The Healing Power of Nature: Milford Sound and the Catlins

Back to our caravan in Queenstown after our drive from Dunedin, we tucked into 12 Mile Delta Campground outside of Queenstown (featured as Ithilien in LOTR). I took time with my cup of coffee and had an excellent meditative morning. It can be an interesting gift to talk with one’s mortality, reflecting on the best way to share one’s gifts with the world moving forward.

We happily left the adrenaline-loving capital of Queenstown behind us – not quite our speed.

In order to be with our friends in Dunedin who had been in the accident with us, we had decided to eliminate our Fiordland National Park portion of the trip. However, realizing that I had planned four nights there, we realized that we still had two nights to dip our toes into this area. And dip our toes we did! We camped at Henry’s Creek on Lake Te Anau (the 2^nd largest lake in NZ) in a site tucked into the trees, temperature cool and fleeces and hats brought out.

Sitting on the smooth rocks of the lake shore with mountains around, I could almost imagine I was back home in Alaska. In fact, Milford Road felt the most like home we have experienced on our journey; well-timed balm for our healing.

Off we went on a full day exploration of the 74-mile-long Milford Road, starting out in the rain. Slowly clouds parted and the sun appeared, creating stunning displays of wet glistening peaks revealed by cloud tendrils.

We got stuck amidst the tour buses at Mirror Lakes Viewpoint, took a red beech forest walk at Lake Gunn, marveled at the beauty of Falls Creek and Monkey Creek Viewpoints, and contemplated and passed up the challenge of the hike at Gertrude Valley (have never seen a hike marked Expert with so many warnings!).

We made stops at the Lake Marian waterfalls, the Chasm, and the 1936 suspension bridge. We wondered at the engineering feat of the Homer tunnel, much of this road built during the Depression by hand with dangers of avalanches. It felt like the mountain gobbled us up, the raw rock tunnel lit up, then spit us out the other side into a mind-blowing mountain valley that we wound down to Milford Sound.

Due to our last-minute decision, we didn’t go out on a boat, but did enjoy some lovely walks in the area before driving back to our wooded campsite.  Our bodies continue to heal, though we are limited in hiking by Chris’ leg injury, taking mostly short walks. 

Calder, sitting in a chair outside carving a fishing lure, had a whimsical South Island Robin visit him. The little friend with his almost comical long legs visited Calder daily, even coming over to say goodbye as we departed. After one last Milford walk at peaceful Lake Mistletoe, we left spectacular Fiordland.

Our next portion of the trip would be to the furthest South of the South Island and into the Catlins. Our first stop was Monkey Island Freedom Camping spot in Orepuki, where we were blasted by the winds of the Tasman Sea, which calmed enough for a low-tide sunset walk along the beach and to Monkey Rock.

Monkey Rock is a rocky knob that becomes an island at high tide, a traditional Māori lookout for whales then later a goldmining settlement. Again in the morning, I hiked out to Monkey Rock for my morning reflection. I am prioritizing a morning reflection in nature daily, a practice which I hope to continue after this voyage, as it calms and grounds the day.

The next day we walked Gemstone Beach where we didn’t strike it rich but admit that we were not really sure what we were looking for.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the highly recommended farm-to-table Orepuki Beach Cafe, then continued along the Scenic South Road, stopping at the Te Hikoi Museum in Riverton where we learned about Māori and European life on the wild South Coast that cuts deep into the Roaring Forties (and tried on a few silly costumes!).

The road led into the Catlins and we spent our time enjoying the sights and walks along the way. The Catlins are a bit off the beaten track with rural areas, podocarp and beach forest, rugged coastlines of the Roaring 40’s, and hidden waterfalls. Settled into Slope Point freedom camp for a night and discovered a crested penguin tucked into brush, sadly looking a bit hungry, which we learned is an issue for many penguins around this area.

We ventured out to Slope Point, the Southernmost point of the South Island (Lat 46 40’40’’ S), the sign giving the distance to South Pole (4,803 km) and Equator (5,140 km), windswept trees telling their story of harsh weather.

Slope Point features rocks dating back to the Jurassic age, approximately 170 million years ago, when this area was on the edge of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland.

Stopping at Curio Bay, we were mesmerized by the petrified forest, walking in a 1.7-million-year-old forest.

I couldn’t stop reaching down and touching the pieces of rock that looked like wood and trace the tree rings with my fingers. The forest was killed suddenly by being buried under ash-filled floodwaters from a volcanic eruption; this ash in the floodwater was rich with silica which impregnated the standing trees, literally turning them to stone.

Petrified wood like this in incredibly rare; the entire logs and stumps were preserved because the silification was within a matter of weeks after the flood, before decay had set in.

Tucked in for a mosquito-filled night at the DOC Camp in Papatowai, all of us woke up and went on a mosquito killing spree inside our now-closed up caravan.  Peake’s Kitchen served up burgers dubbed the “2025 Best Burger of New Zealand,” followed by an ice cream masterpiece with sprinkles. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

We did some short hikes nearby, understanding that this area is truly “where the forest meets the sea.” Walking through the forest, it feels like a moa (a massive extinct bird) was going to come out and surprise us, then we break through the woods out onto a fine sand beach with the surf crashing. The juxtaposition is quite striking.

Mclean Falls appears almost manicured in the way it cascades down several steps of black rock, moss covered on either sides, surrounded by Tree Ferns.

The 30-metre-high Cathedral Caves is only “open” at low tide to allow us entry into the Pacific Ocean carved cave safely after we meandered down through the forest path. Though the rock structure was impressive, my favorite thing was finding two little blue penguins tucked into a crevasse.

Rain expected and clean clothes needed, we decided to stay at Newhaven Holiday Park in Surat Bay to catch up on laundry and school. Chris and I set off down the beach to find a sweet female sea lion lounging, then further down two large bulls fighting over the harem looking on.

I am enthralled with the lovely birdsong of the South Island which overwhelms the senses with both a dawn and dusk chorus of fantails, bellbirds, and sparrows. During the kid’s rainy day of school, Chris and I had a date of the local Museum and café. So interesting to think of how much of New Zealand, due to its isolation for such a long period of time following separation from Gondwana (40 million years ago) is why so many of the plants and animals have evolved unique characteristics, found nowhere else in the world. The museum had moa eggs and bones on display, a gigantic flightless bird only extinct about 400 years ago. Also on display is a scoria marae stone (a sacred stone) proven to have come from near Tahiti, considered proof of the place of origin of the Māori people. After our date, we went for a family walk along the river. Looking out at the waves crashing at the entrance to the river, it’s wild to read the litany of warning about crossing the Catlins Bar, as well as numerous tales of shipwrecks along this rugged coast. Not a Bar we ever need to cross.

Our last stop in the Catlins was Nugget Point Lighthouse, standing sentinel since 1870, built of rock from the quarry it stands on by hand, automated in 1989. We looked out past the rock “gold nuggets” to the seemingly calm Pacific, imaging the possibility of returning to these wild waters of the Roaring 40’s someday by boat (with an appropriate weather window of course!).