Discovering Papatowai

I was driving through Papatowai in the Catlins recently when I noticed the sign for ‘Beach’ and decided it was worth investigating. After a short walk from my car, the beach view I witnessed was nothing short of epic. The place name Papatowai means where the forest meets the sea, it did, and it was breathtaking. I haven’t seen anything like it before in New Zealand, and I was completely mesmerised.

Tahakopa beach, Papatowai, Catlins, Otago.

I wanted to explore the forest before me, but that adventure would wait for another day. As I was driving home I noticed on the north side of the Papatowai bridge a walking track. Bingo.

PART 1: OLD COACH ROAD

The track I saw from my car is called Old Coach Road. It is a historic track and like the name suggests, the road was used to coach people and supplies by horse from boats in the old days. The track is excellent and immediately I was engaged by the surrounding bush.

Old Coach Road Track, Papatowai, Catlins, Otago, NZ.

The Old Coach Road stays close to the edge of the beach. The historic road is wide and an easy meandering walk. I loved the abundance of ferns on the forest floor, and compared with other bush walks I have been on, a lot less chaotic to photograph.

Eventually Old Coach road follows to the edge of the forest and you can see out beyond to the Tahakopa river.

PART 2: TAHAKOPA BEACH

Emerging out onto Tahakopa beach is a real treat. Looking at how the forest meets the sea is fascinating. I had bumped into a local earlier on the track who told me the marker for Old Possumers track was about three quarters the way down the beach toward the cliffs. So off I went photographing everything!

Tahakopa Beach, Papatowai, Catlins, Otago, NZ.

There are plenty of washed up or uprooted tree trunks to compose images with on the beach. The day was overcast, and no light was kicking off but it was still loads of fun. My favourite image from the day is below.

PART 3: OLD POSSUMERS TRACK

Finding the orange triangle marker for the Old Possumers track requires a bit of careful looking and a small dose of luck. I was climbing up the sand bank along the beach quite a fair bit to take photographs, so it was a nice surprise to accidently stumble across the marker.

Once on Old Possumers track it was quickly back down into the bush, but not before I got one more image of these two wind swept trees overlooking the beach.

Old Possumers Track, Papatowai, Catlins, Otago, NZ.

Old Possumers track is well marked with the orange arrows to guide the way. When I visited 2 large trees had fallen over the path, but apart from those obstacles it was easy to follow.

I thought I would take a couple of detail images of vegetation on the track.

As always in NZ, follow the orange arrows.

The image below here was taken walking over a swampy bog on an elevated wooden pathway.

On a very windy day, I’d be tempted to avoid walking Old Possumers track, there are more than a few fallen trees around.

Old Possumers track has been beautifully crafted by the Department of Conservation, down below is an example of a walkway to help you walk through some of the boggy terrain, although be careful not to slip on the logs.

I finished the Old Coach Road and Old Possumers track in about 4 hours. However, I spent a long time documenting the journey with my camera. From a photographers perspective this adventure was amazing. There are so many photo opportunities at Papatowai, it really is a dream location. I would say Old Coach Road is achievable for most peoples fitness levels, but the uneven terrain of Old Possumers Track is more suited to sure-footed people who can avoid twisting an ankle with the odd slippery log on the pathway here and there.

In summary this is the best bush walk I have experienced in the Catlins, or anywhere for that matter. I can’t wait to do it again.

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