Catlins Forest Park

The entrance to Catlins Forest Park can be reached from Highway 92 or, coming from the west, via Wyndham. The park office, with a small exhibition on the Catlins area, is in Owaka.

Catlins Forest Park, 600 sq.km of largely virgin forest, extends along the Catlins River to the sparsely populated coastal area, lashed by heavy surf. There are a number of attractive trails through the forest and along the Catlins River.

On the coast there are numerous inlets and caves. The name Cannibal Bay recalls the bloody deeds of the 1830s, when the notorious Maori leader Te Rauparaha pressed his raids as far as the south of the South Island.

Yellow-eyed penguins breed on the coast, but are very rare elsewhere in New