curio bay natural heritage centre

Barely an hours drive from Invercargill is the wonderful beach side of Curio Bay with its petrified tree stumps and trees - best visited at low tide. If you are there towards sunset you may be lucky enough to see the yellow eyed penguins coming ashore after their day at sea.. Directly behind this is the wonderfully safe area of Porpoise Bay where you can swim with the local Hector Dolphins who live in the bay. A wonderful sweeping beach with golden sand, set beneath a camping ground set amongst flax bushes. The drive is spectacular through the rolling hills of Southland with herds of dairy cows and quaint country settlements with delightful cafes - or take the costal route with wonderful vistas of the ocean. If you are not in a hurry visit the 'Lignite Pit'. This is an old opencast coal mine that has been replanted and has a cafe and camping sites all to show what can be done after the end of a business.

A beautiful beach spotted with petrified trees in the rocks, so cool as you can see full trees and stumps. A real treat is the rare yellow eyed penguin nests in the shrubs so if you go at sunset you may see them come in for the night. It was so worth the wait as we sat for 1.5 hours and got to see 5 penguins, a very special treat. Give them room and follow the guidelines as we don't want to disturb them during their nesting time!

Curio Bay is a beautiful, quiet spot on the coast of the Catlins. The petrified logs and stumps are fascinating. We couldn't get over being on a beach and looking down to see woodgrain in the rocks! The tide was coming in while we were there, so we couldn't see as much as we would have liked to have seen. Timing isn't easy when traveling long distances!We enjoyed walking over the rocks and watching seagulls and shags. But at that time of day, the penguins were not out. It's best to see them at sunset, but you must slap on the insect repellant to ward off the sandflies.Well worth a visit, even if you can't see the penguins.

Unfortunately, because we had stopped off at Cathedral Caves, which you can only go to at low tide, by the time we got to Curio Bay, the tide was halfway in. Nevertheless we still got to see the petrified logs. There are steps down to the bay and there are also excellent interpretation signs. The rugged coastline is very scenic. We were glad we stayed the night so that we could see the penguins - they still come home even though it was raining by evening.

yeplow tide so we saw the petrified foresbefore that we saw 3 hectors dolphins just off from the cafeand the walked round to the other side of the campsite to where the penguins were and saw 1 large penguin preening itselfso yes you can see all three if you are lucky

We visited early evening when the Centre itself was closed however the outdoor attractions are there for all to see. There is a campsite/caravan park which appears well organised and sheltered.Access from here to the petrified forest and yellow-eyed penguins at Curio Bay is a few minutes along the road and down a well established stairway. There is also a wooden stairway leading down to Porpoise Bay beach from the Centre and it’s here that dolphins may be seen at times.The main purpose of our visit was to see the penguins in the wild as they return to their nests at dusk. When we arrived there were already 20 or so people walking around on the rocks and to the casual observer the significance or appearance of the fossilized forest is not obvious - perhaps it was the low light!We didn’t have to wait too long before the first penguin was spotted coming up from the sea. Unfortunately notwithstanding onsite information, or common sense, about keeping some distance from these shy creatures there was a “bun fight” by numerous characters to get as close as possible. As many of them were armed with cameras with lenses which could have taken photos from the other side of the bay it seemed ridiculous that they were in fact blocking the route the penguin was attempting to take back to it’s nest. There were no DoC staff around to keep them in check.With a fairly standard zoom on my camcorder I was able to get close-up shots from a safe distance of this and a few other penguins which eventually came ashore. (The microphone also managed to pick up the less than quiet voices of over excited visitors who were calling to each other across the area).The ignorance of some people managed to almost ruin the experience however luckily the penguins put them in the shade.When we departed the shoreline we were witness to a lovely sunset as we headed back to our accommodation overlooking Porpoise Bay. During our short stay in the area we didn’t see any dolphins or seals at the beach here but it’s attractive enough in its own right to warrant a visit. At night when we had gone to bed we heard the “snoring” sound of penguins which had returned to nest under our accommodation - luckily it wasn’t something which we were aware of for too long - possibly thanks to the sea air we were sound asleep quickly.

There was lots to explore on this beach. It is actually a petrified forest and you can see the pertified logs and stumps very clearly. On the beach you can find yellow eyed penguins and also spot dolphins out at sea. There is a bushwalk opposite the car park which takes you though the difference levels of the forest. Lovely place to spend an hour or two exploring.

Went here with the lite of a Jurassic fossilized forest and was a bit disappointed. Having seen petrified wood at the Moreaki Boulders area, this area didn't have anything else notable for me. And the sand flies were biting. There is a possibility of penguins, but we were there midday so didn't see any.

I stayed in Curio Bay for 2 nights and somehow only managed to see one penguin! However, this is such a cool spot to watch the waves and birds, not to mention check out the cool fossils. Very interesting spot and recommended while in the Catlins.

The penguins in the evening were awesome. We watched the hectors dolphins play in the surf for an hour. Such a pristine location.

Superb wildlife watching spot even in the rain (and we had plenty of that!). This small peninsular has a rocky coast on the right and a large sandy bay on the left and a 'rugged' camp site between. We saw several yellow eyed penguins from the viewing point board walk. Note that a volunteer warden comes and puts a rope 'barrier' down to stop you getting too close to the penguins but this is not the only spot they come ashore so keep your eyes out on other parts of the rocky platform and in the tall grass. The sandy beach was huge we saw dolphins in the afternoon and again in the morning very close into the beach. The campsite was huge. The powered sites were well screened but no sea view. If you don't want or need a powered site there are plenty of spots with a sea view to choose from. Facilities were very basic. We didn't see sealions but plenty of signs telling you to watch out for them.

Though nearly 4 hours from queenstown was clearly worth the driveWas a highlight of our tripSaw 8 adult penguinsGot even better when chicks came out from the brush and saw them being fed by parents

The petrified forest was high on my list of things to do in the Catlins, and I was not disappointed. The wave-cut platform is just stuffed full of fossilised tree stumps and logs, and with a fairly big swell at sea there were waves crashing on the shore with masses of spray. There are notices warning visitors not to get within 10 metres of the Yellow-eyed Penguins that nest there, because they are easily scared. I sat on a fossil tree stump for ages watching people trying to get photos without upsetting the birds, and I discovered that the penguins haven't read the notice telling them to stay at least 10 metres from people. Two came right past me, one about 7 metres away and one about 3 metres away, completely ignoring me as I sat there, so I got my photos without creeping about among the rocks or bothering the penguins. Oh, and you need to go at low tide because the petrified forest is under water at high tide.

Another fantastic place to visit in The Catlins, Curio Bay has so much to see before you even walk down the steps on to the beach you get a very good view of the petrified forest laid out on the rocks below you. As you walk around the bay the waves are crashing against the rocks in the background and keep your eyes open as you might be lucky enought to spot a yellow-eyed penguin and when i was there last November we saw about six of them going about their business and they're so wonderful to watch but please remember to give them plenty of space. Also on the right hand side of the bay is a deep gully which the waves rush up and makes the giant sea kelp dance about and when you manage to get this close to the kelp it's amazing just how large it is and it looks like you could even walk across it! I've been lucky enough to visit Curio Bay three times and it never fails to be spectacular.

Most things about this place were already said. It was one of our favorites in Catlins. If you have time plan whole day in Curio Bay and stay overnight. We wished we could have set up our tent on a hill with the view on beach and bay where dolphins swam... There was no time for that unfortunately. This is picturesque place, heaven for nature lovers. Petrified forest is very interesting and we loved the opportunity of walking across the rocky cost in search of fossils. Or penguins... To wrap it up, in Curio Bay there are nice places to walk, a few options to do some water activities and spots just to sit and admire various views. Really great place to stop for longer time.