- Distance
- 24km
- Time
- The Wisp to Tawanui campground, 5-7hr; Tawanui to The Wisp, 3-5hr
- Grade
- Moderate
- Accom.
- There are several accommodation options: Tawanui Campground; Mohua Park Eco Cottages (www.catlinsmohuapark.co.nz); Catlins Café (located in Owaka, www.catlinscafe.co.nz/accommodation)
- Access
- It’s best to start the Catlins River-Wisp Loop from The Wisp. Take Owaka Valley Rd to Chloris Pass Rd. The Wisp is on the right, after Cairn Rd
- Map
- CG14
A few days in the Catlins proves it’s how you journey through your destination that counts.
Right on cue, the long dry summer came to an end. It wasn’t thunderous or biblical, just a persistent, drizzly, misty end to the golden weather. I’d raced the dark clouds along the gravel back roads between Owaka and Balclutha to get to the start of the Catlins River-Wisp Loop Track – a recently opened 24km, two day walk – before the rain set in. But barely had I beeped the car locked and before it began to drizzle. Putting on my wet weather gear, I realised I might as well have taken my time – at least that way I wouldn’t have missed the turn-off to The Wisp and driven halfway to Balclutha before realising my mistake. But then, I’m not the first to be in a rush in the Catlins. Take a drive along the Southern Scenic Route between Dunedin and Invercargill and you’ll see plenty of tourists. On my first day in the region I visited all the hotspots: Cathedral Caves, Lake Wilkie, McLean and Purakaunui falls and Nugget Point Lookout. By the time I’d watched the yellow-eyed penguins waddle in from the surf at Nugget Point just on dusk, I felt I’d made new friends from all over the world. At each attraction I’d exchanged cheery hellos with French, American, German and English visitors who I’d seen at previous locations. But curiously, that night as I had a meal and a drink in tiny Owaka, I didn’t see any familiar faces. The pulling power of the yellow-eyed penguins dotting the coast is helping the Catlins build a reputation as a must-visit tourist destination, but its main attractions are quick-fix walks; roadside diversions for those cruising the scenic highway. “There’s a lot of peripheral stuff in the Catlins,” says Bill Wheeler, DOC’s former asset manager in the Catlins. “But as for getting out and experiencing the bush without having to go all the way to the other side of the country to experience the West Coast or Fiordland? There’re not really those opportunities there.” For that reason, the Catlins is seen as a place you pass through, not linger, says Wheeler “The Southern Scenic Route tends to be a transition – it’s somewhere halfway between Dunedin and Invercargill for a lot of people,” Wheeler explains. “When in fact, in its own right it’s a fantastic destination.” Sick of seeing those tourists on a drive-by tour of the region, Catlins Promotions, a group of local businesses, teamed up with DOC to think of ways to encourage more people to stop over, even if just for one extra day. The goal would be to help drum up business for local operators in the same way accommodation providers, restaurants, cafes and bike hire companies have benefitted from the Otago Central Rail Trail. “That’s what we were trying to achieve in promoting the Catlins,” says Wheeler. “There would be something there that would act as a multiplier.” The original idea was to create a multiday walk into the interior of the Catlins Coastal Rainforest Park, linking up existing bivouacs used mainly by hunters and those monitoring mohua (yellowhead) trapping lines. But this proved too difficult and expensive, so Wheeler suggested the two day loop which utilises the existing Catlins River Track and forestry roads. Putting all your eggs in one basket is no strategy for regional economic growth, especially one reliant on something as fickle as tourism. That’s why the loop track is being seen as a trial of sorts. If it works and brings more people to the region, then the original three-day route heading into the park’s interior may be developed. Back at The Wisp, I was about to curse my luck with the weather when I remembered the words of Fergus Sutherland from earlier that morning. I had called in on Sutherland, a well-known Catlins identity and one of the key supporters of the loop who also runs Mohua Park, an 8ha eco-sanctuary with cottage accommodation, on my way to the track to introduce myself as I was staying in one of his cottages that night. Sutherland’s property is a short walk from the Tawanui end of the track and his business is one of those that should benefit from the two-day loop by providing environmentally-friendly accommodation to those who don’t want to camp at the DOC campground. As he gave me directions to The Wisp, I queried him about the forecast rain. “Rain’s not a problem for someone like you,” he said. “Besides, the forest really comes alive in the wet.” Being mistaken for some kind of super tramper is a hazard of the job for those who work for Wilderness. But his words about the forest coming alive got me thinking. Already rueing my rally-like race to the start of the track, I made a promise to slow down and to take my time over the next few days. And Fergus was right: the Catlins in the wet, is the Catlins at its best. It’s not called the Catlins Coastal Rainforest Park without reason – it rains, drizzles really, around 150 days a year. After crossing the first of four swingbridges over the Catlins River, I left behind pine plantation and entered the southern-most beech forest in New Zealand. The drizzle-coated trees, their tops disappearing into the mist, seemed to take on a sharper, fresher quality than they do in the dry. Mosses hung from the trunks like spittle-coated beards and fungi of all shapes and sizes glistened like polished stones. My promise to slow down had me noticing my surroundings more. Things like those glistening mushrooms might have escaped my attention on any other day, but this day they were something I couldn’t help but stop to photograph and inspect. I don’t know that the forest really was more alive, but I certainly felt I was. The Catlins River Track has been around for more than 30 years. It was built by the Forest Service during the winter months as a way to keep its workers busy. Owaka Ranger Chris Bennett arrived on the scene in 1980 just in time to help build the final two swingbridges. Even back then, attracting visitors was the goal. “It’s a really nice wee walk so the Forest Service decided it would open [the forest] up for tourism,” says Bennett. Bennett says extending the river track into a circuit is good thing, too: “Anything where people can go and stay the night at either end [of a track] and then tramp right round is good for the area.” For the most part, the track sticks to the river. At times it resembles a tramping route; narrow and rough, while at others it’s a broad easily negotiable track. There’s something here for everyone: challenge aplenty, but nothing too difficult as to be off-putting. On the occasions the track moves away from the river, it’s to climb steeply inland for a ways, before dropping back down to a swingbridge or another riverside meander. If you’re lucky you’ll spot yellowheads, though you’re best to take a guide like Fergus Sutherland if that’s your main objective. Despite plenty of trapping operations, the birds remain rare and elusive. Sutherland runs his eco-tours in the forest and knows exactly where to look. I did hear bellbirds, tui and kereru and spotted several pairs of paradise duck and plenty of friendly fantails which were more than happy to come within an arm’s length. I misidentified tomtits as South Island robins, which haven’t been seen in these parts for decades. Later, while having dinner with Fergus and his wife Mary I gave them reason to doubt my super tramper credentials after enthusiastically insisting I had seen the rare South Island variety of robin. I had been on the track for about an hour and a half when I stopped for lunch at Wallis Stream and boiled a cup of tea using water gathered from the Catlins River. I found a log overlooking a bend in the river and gazed at its slowly moving majesty. With native birds chirping in the background and surrounded by native bush with hot tea warming my hands and stomach I became hypnotised by the beauty of my surroundings. Even for a so-called super tramper the opportunities to just sit, listen and take in nature are not that common. It took a sudden heavy downpour and chilly wind to rouse me from my trance and move on. I realised I’d achieved my goal of slowing down when a DOC sign indicating times to the track end car parks revealed I was 45-minutes behind where I expected to be. I reluctantly picked up the pace, but still couldn’t help but notice the amazing bush the track passes through. Every now and then I came across a fallen tree, its trunk coated in mosses, gnarly branches twisted and rotten. Clambering over these behemoths, and watching my step on the root-addled ascents high above the river, emphasised the quality of this walk; it has a sense of adventure and wildness about it. That’s what I hope to take away from all my tramps. I know I’m nearing Tawanui and the end of the 12km Catlins River section when the true right of the river suddenly opens up and becomes farmland. The river that provided water for my tea takes on a different quality here. White foam collects in places and rather than flowing clean and clear it takes on a tannin-stained look. There are no more paradise ducks squawking at my approach, either. I found myself wishing the forest could continue forever. [caption id="attachment_7136" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Short walks on the Southern Scenic Route
Lake Wilkie
20min - A good place to experience old-growth mixed podocarp forest. The 20 minute walk from the road takes you to a boardwalk at the edge of a small, tranquil lake. Forest birds, rimu and rata trees are features. [caption id="attachment_7137" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Cathedral Caves

Nugget Point Lookout
2min - Visit at dusk (around 4pm-6.30pm in winter) to watch yellow eyed penguins waddle out of the sea after a day searching for food. The birds hop along the stony shore beneath the viewing hide to their burrows in the cliff.McLean Falls
30-40min - An easy benched track leads to the biggest – and best – falls in the Catlins. The track descends to Duckaday Creek and then climbs in the series of steps and switchbacks to the falls. Spectacular.Purakaunui Falls
20min - A short walk on an excellent track to the best known of the Catlins’ waterfalls, located in a small reserve of mixed podocarp and beech forest. [caption id="attachment_7141" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]