Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail

The Catlins Coastal Heritage Trail is a detour off the Southern Scenic Route, which runs between Dunedin and Te Anau. The trail is a series of walks and places of interest linked by easy drives. You need to allow at least five hours to visit all the places of interest and complete all the walks.

If you follow the trail from north to south, you'll begin at Niagara Falls - a very short waterfall, named by a surveyor with a keen sense of humour. The next place of interest is a concrete horse trough, used by early horse teams. At Waikawa there's a museum displaying photographs and memorabilia from the area. Opposite is the former St Mary's Anglican Church. From the wharf there is a twenty minute walk along the beach on what was once a coach road.

Porpoise Bay is the next stop - home to the rare Hector's dolphin. Nearby is Curio Bay, a world renowned fossil forest best viewed at low tide. Travel on to Waipohatu, a forest area with picnic sites and walks, before you venture onto Slope Point, the most southerly point of the South Island.

Return to the main road and the Tararua Acre, situated 300 metres from the road. This is the burial site of casualties from the wreck of the SS Tararua, which ran aground on 24 April 1881.

Your final port of call is Fortrose, where there is a blacksmith's shop and the area's oldest European cemetery.

Nugget Point Lighthouse

Nugget Point is one of the most distinctive landforms along the Otago coast. It's a steep headland with a lighthouse and a scattering of rocky islets (The Nuggets).

A five minute walk takes you to the lighthouse, where you'll enjoy amazing views along the coastline in both directions. If you look down onto the rocks directly below the lighthouse, you'll see fur seals lolling about, playing in rock pools and generally having fun. Bring binoculars for close-up viewing of this breeding colony.

Nugget Point is also home to sea lions, sooty shearwaters, shags, yellow-eyed penguins, spoonbills and a breeding colony of gannets. Occasionally, elephant and leopard seals visit the area. If you watch the water for a while, you might see Hector's dolphins.

From Nugget Point it's an easy walk to Roaring Bay, where you can hide and wait for yellow-eyed penguins. Early morning or sunset are the best times for viewing.

Stirling Point

Stirling Point marks the southern end of State Highway 1, which runs the length of New Zealand. The point is memorable for the large signpost displaying distances to major cities in the world - a photograph of this signpost is a must for your travel journey.

You can access the Foveaux Walkway from Stirling Point. This walkway consists of two separate but connected trails on Bluff Hill peninsula. Both traverse a wide variety of vegetation, including native bush (with a variety of native birds), coastal scrub and privately owned farmland. There are stunning views of Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island, as well as wave-beaten rocks and beaches. After the walk, which almost circumnavigates the peninsula, a visit to the top of Bluff Hill is worthwhile for an extensive panoramic view.

Queens Park

Just north of Invercargill's city centre, Queens Park sprawls across 80 beautiful hectares. Special features include a beautiful and varied rose garden, a rhododendron dell, an azalea garden, dramatic tree-lined walkways, tracks through native forest, a Japanese garden, rock and herb gardens. An indoor wintergarden features tropical and flowering plants; cacti are displayed in an adjoining house. Queens Park also has an impressive bird aviary, animal enclosures, children's play areas, extensive sporting facilities and cafés.

Prominent in the grounds of Queens Park is the Southland Museum and Art Gallery - a very distinctive pyramid-shaped building. A highlight of the museum is the Maori Gallery, which emphasizes the everyday aspects of pre-European life. The museum also has a Tuatarium, where you can see tuatara and find out about the captive breeding programme. Tuatara are native reptiles with a lineage that stretches back 225 million years - they were around when dinosaurs walked the earth.