Through the Catlins by Campervan

This post follows up my two earlier posts about the wild Catlins region of New Zealand. I went through in a campervan at the start of June 2021. I visited the waterfalls, and list freedom camping sites. Information about freedom camping sites can be a bit hard to come by, so I have made the effort to identify all five such sites in the Catlins. I also describe other camping spots, including beautiful Pūrākaunui Bay, my favourite!

(I have two earlier posts about this region: ‘The Catlins: An overlooked corner of New Zealand’, and ‘The Catlins, continued’.)

I’VE revisited the Catlins just lately. I went through in a camper van this time, and managed to visit a lot of places that I, my dad and my editor had missed earlier. I got some more photos of wonderful scenes, plus four minutes of video.

Here is a map of the Catlins that I saw on the side of the local museum at Waikawa. It shows the inland rainforest parks with their spectacular waterfalls, as well as the better-known coastal areas. You can download a PDF from catlins.org.nz, the producers highlighted at the right.