Southern Scenic Route

on By
St. Paul’s Cathedral in Dunedin

At the end of July and into early August, I travelled along the Southern Scenic Route going from Dunedin to Queenstown, with a detour to Stewart Island.

Otago Peninsula Fallen Soldiers Memorial
A baby albatross at the Royal Albatross Centre on the Otago Peninsula.
Tunnel Beach in Dunedin minus the sandy beach. I visited at high tide.

I spent a night in the rural town of Kaka Point, which is very close to where I wanted to be at sunrise the next day.

Nugget Point Lighthouse

There are numerous picturesque spots along the Catlins in the southernmost part of the South Island, including what is said to be Aotearoa New Zealand’s most-photographed waterfall.

Purakaunui Falls in the Catlins

I made my way to Bluff and took the ferry over to Stewart Island. I’m told I was lucky, the seas were quite calm.

The ferry pulls into Oban on Stewart Island

However, I didn’t have much luck with the skies. I spent two nights on Stewart Island hoping to get a nice view of the stars. I even picked out a promising photo spot for starlight to be reflected on the water.

A rainy morning on Stewart Island. The rain cover for the camera is visible along the bottom of this photo. The light trail is from a boat.

On both nights, it was completely cloudy. So at some point, I’ll have to book another trip back.

Back now to the Southern Scenic Route.

The South African War Memorial in Invercargill at the intersection of Tay St (SH1) and Dee St (SH6)
The fog has yet to burn off at McCracken’s Rest just west of Invercargill
A flock of birds rest on Lake Te Anau

I was hoping for a nice sunset or sunrise photo moment in Te Anau. Again, the skies didn’t cooperate.

Heading up into the fog at The Remarkables ski area in Queenstown
The view of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu from the top of The Remarkables
Sunset over Lake Wakatipu as seen from the Queenstown Gardens
Rainbow over Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown

And that’s the end of a long road trip along the Southern Scenic Route.