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Key facts
- Suggested duration
- 7 days
- Start
- Dunedin
- Finish
- Dunedin
- Travel style
- Road trip
Checked against official sources on 1 October 2026. Confirm with the official source before you go.
Travel through Kaka Point and the southern Catlins to Invercargill, then return through Gore with overnight stops separating coast and inland driving.
This is a suggested itinerary, not a booked package or a guarantee that roads, walks or overnight sites are available.
Day 1: Dunedin arrival before the coastal journey
Start with a Dunedin overnight and organise supplies before entering the Catlins portion of the trip. Check the location of your chosen accommodation rather than assuming every Dunedin park is in the centre. Keep any town outing short enough to leave time for reviewing all the upcoming bases. Confirm the southern Catlins stay now, because it is essential to splitting the coastal journey. Do not begin driving south tonight simply to create an earlier start at tomorrow's viewpoint.
Overnight: Dunedin
Day 2: Through Balclutha to Kaka Point
Leave Dunedin for Balclutha, then follow the checked local approach towards Kaka Point and your confirmed overnight. Make arrival the priority and leave Nugget Point for tomorrow, when there is no accommodation move to compete with the walk. Set out food and weather layers after unpacking. The coastal road is part of the trip, not a reason to stop wherever a view appears. Use designated stopping places and keep the evening free if the drive takes longer than expected.
Overnight: Kaka Point
Day 3: Nugget Point with a return to Kaka Point
Visit Nugget Point from Kaka Point after checking the local road, weather and DOC notices. Follow the lighthouse path to its viewing area only if conditions suit the group, then return by the same route. Do not plan the day around wildlife appearing or extend the outing down an informal coastal line. Return to Kaka Point for the second night and prepare for tomorrow's longer progression. Keeping the base unchanged gives room to shorten or abandon the viewpoint visit.
Overnight: Kaka Point
Day 4: Owaka and a southern Catlins overnight
Travel through Owaka towards the southern Catlins, keeping your confirmed Curio Bay or Waikawa-area accommodation as the day's endpoint. Purakaunui Falls is a possible stop only after checking the approach and allowing enough daylight for the remaining drive. Use the upper viewing option or omit the walk rather than rushing down to the lower view. Continue to your host without adding coastal caves or another headland. Carry meals and confirm arrival arrangements before leaving the northern base.
Overnight: Curio Bay or Waikawa area; confirm a host before travel
Day 5: Curio Bay viewing area, then Invercargill
If conditions and current notices allow, visit Curio Bay's Petrified Forest Walk viewing platform before continuing towards Invercargill. Read the interpretation from the upper area; the plan does not depend on descending to the shore, a low-tide window or seeing wildlife. Keep the coastal transfer as the other main commitment and drop the visit if departure is delayed. Settle into your confirmed Invercargill accommodation before dinner. This completes the coastal leg without adding Bluff or the western Southland coast.
Overnight: Invercargill
Day 6: Move inland to Gore
Leave Invercargill for Gore, making this an inland overnight rather than attempting to finish the loop immediately. After checking in, consider the Eastern Southland Gallery only once its current opening arrangements have been confirmed. Keep lunch, laundry and a rest ahead of adding another rural excursion. Review tomorrow's Dunedin journey while there is time to adjust it. A Gore night is part of the proposed pacing, not a guarantee of a campground vacancy or an included gallery admission.
Overnight: Gore
Day 7: Return to Dunedin without another coastal detour
Complete the inland return from Gore to Dunedin with a current route check and planned rest stops. Do not turn the return into a repeat visit to the Catlins simply because an earlier viewpoint was missed. Leave arrival time flexible and handle any vehicle-return arrangements separately from this suggested day allocation. The loop finishes in Dunedin; another overnight is optional and needs its own booking. A flight or other fixed departure should not rely on an invented driving-time allowance.
Overnight: Dunedin; optional final night
A coastal journey with an inland return
Great South establishes the Dunedin-Catlins-Invercargill touring connection, the Invercargill-Gore connection and a Gore-Dunedin stage. Combining these into a loop is our editorial choice. It is not the whole Southern Scenic Route and excludes Fiordland, Riverton and Bluff. The northern approach and inland return share some corridor; the Catlins coast is not driven twice.
Secure the southern stop before departure
Reserve Dunedin, two Kaka Point nights, a Curio Bay or Waikawa-area stay, Invercargill and Gore. The final Dunedin night is optional. No southern Catlins operator or current pitch inventory was verified, so that base is conditional on finding a suitable host. If it cannot be arranged, revise the route rather than merging the coastal stages or assuming a reserve car park permits an overnight.
Choose viewpoints without promising access
DOC distinguishes upper viewing areas at Purakaunui Falls and Curio Bay from lower approaches. The latter are unnecessary here. Check track notices, forecasts, NZTA and local councils before each leg; no complete live alert audit was performed. Existing park links retain their own facility checks. The tent cover is an explicitly illustrative Yosemite photograph, not a Catlins location image.
