Qualla: The Catlins https://qualla.com/the-catlins en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:26 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Catlins https://qualla.com/the-catlins The Catlins: Introduction https://qualla.com/the-catlins/ Photo credit James Dignan (User:Grutness), CC BY-SA 3.0. Captain Edward Cattlin never got to keep the land that bears his name. In February 1840, just weeks before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, he purchased a large block along the Catlins River from Kai Tahu chief Hone Tuhawaiki for muskets and 30 pounds. New Zealand's land commissioners later rejected the sale, and much of the territory was returned to Maori after negotiations that outlasted Cattlin himself. But the name stuck, and today the Catlins refers to a hilly, forested coastal area in the southeastern corner of the South Island that remains one of the most sparsely populated and ecologically intact stretches of coastline in New Zealand.

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Image: James Dignan (User:Grutness) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/pz8x-the-catlins-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Catlins: Where the Bush Meets the Sea https://qualla.com/the-catlins/ Photo credit James Dignan (User:Grutness), CC BY-SA 3.0. The Catlins occupies the territory where the Otago and Southland regions meet the Southern Ocean, a corrugated coastline of headlands, bays, and river mouths backed by native podocarp forest that extends nearly to the waterline. The largest town is Owaka, population 400, which se...

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Image: James Dignan (User:Grutness) | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/pz8x-the-catlins-where-the-bush-meets-the-sea.mp3 0:06 2 full The Catlins: An Inventory of Rarities https://qualla.com/the-catlins/ Photo credit Karora, Public domain. The wildlife that congregates along the Catlins coast reads like a checklist of threatened species. Hector's dolphins, the world's smallest and rarest dolphin, patrol the waters off Porpoise Bay, identifiable by their distinctive rounded dorsal fins. Yellow-eyed penguins, the hoi...

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Image: Karora | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/pz8x-the-catlins-an-inventory-of-rarities.mp3 0:06 3 full The Catlins: Getting Lost on Purpose https://qualla.com/the-catlins/ Photo credit IcknieldRidgeway, CC BY-SA 4.0. Self-driving is the only practical way to explore the Catlins, and the journey is the point as much as any single destination. The Southern Scenic Route enters from Balclutha in the north and Invercargill in the south, connecting a series of side roads and short walks that lead t...

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Image: IcknieldRidgeway | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/pz8x-the-catlins-getting-lost-on-purpose.mp3 0:06 4 full The Catlins: The Quiet Edge https://qualla.com/the-catlins/ Photo credit GrahamBould, Public domain. What distinguishes the Catlins from more celebrated New Zealand landscapes is not the absence of spectacular scenery but the absence of the infrastructure that usually accompanies it. There are no gondolas, no adventure tourism operators, no towns large enough to support a superm...

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Image: GrahamBould | Public domain

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/p/z/8/x/the-catlins-wk/pz8x-the-catlins-the-quiet-edge.mp3 0:06 5 full