The Catlins

Time to catch up on all the missing blog posts. So, several weekends ago now I went to The Catlins. The Catlins region is about 1.5 hours drive south of Dunedin and is "as wild as it was when the first Maori saw it." Named after a whaling captain, Edward Cattlin, it is "unique since it has been largly untouched my animals, fires or past glacial action. They are thought to have been one of the last sanctuaries of the giant flightless moa, which died out 200 years ago. ..." (from http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/forest-parks/catlins.html)

My plan was to run the Catlins River Track so I stopped at the info center in Owaka and asked the nice lady there about the track. She advised against running it, so I ignored her advice and went there anyway. And I am glad I did! The track leads "into a delicate rainforest ecosystem with 28 species of fern and many epiphytes, orchids and vines." (from http://www.catlins.org.nz/natural_history.htm)
Nice spot for a short lunch:
Some sections of the trail were too steep or too slippery to run but most of it was fine. Several swing bridges crossed the river a few times:
Amazing place! I heard that some special orchids are blooming there in the summer and really bring the whole forest to live. Must be an incredible sight.