postcards from otago and the catlins

monday, we head to the airport for a flight to dunedin, our third attempt to stay at road’s end cabin, a canopy camping escapes favourite of ours, nestled quietly into a hill, surveying the wilds of brighton beach below. our hosts, paula & nathan have thought of everything giving this little cabin a cosy luxuriousness that makes me want to stay well beyond our scheduled time. we’re here for six days & five nights, and we’ve savoured every minute. paula has the hot tub fired up and ready for our arrival, a warm and inviting coda to our day’s travel.

our days are devoured by threading ourselves between the bed, the hot tub and the car. our adventures take us south into the catlins to nugget point and the purakaunui falls.

our adventures also take us to the wild, quiet beaches of the otago peninsula, where we meet more wildlife than humans. at allan’s beach, a huge sea lion shakes itself awake, raising it’s massive body up from the sand in what feels like a warning not to come any closer. along the same beach, two seals are playing, perhaps aware of us, but certainly not paying us any attention. hoopers inlet, and these ragged beaches, with white-peaked waves and broad coastlines are only a 30 minute drive from dunedin city and feel like a world away.