SOUTHLAND: CATLINS

Fortrose Reserve provides a large grass area where you can park right along the harbour's edge and you can park overnight for free.

We arrived in mid-autumn, having just travelled down the South Otago coast through some miserable wet and blustery cold weather. As we drove into the Catlins, the sky began to clear, lifting our spirits as we headed towards Fortrose.

Not sure of what to expect, we were delighted to see a large, well maintained reserve right on the water's edge with a few other campers already set up. It was late afternoon and the sun was just starting to set. The resulting sunset, with the black swans on the lake was close to idyllic. 

The next morning we had a good look around before continuing on to Invercargill. There is aclean public toilet and also a children's playground, and boat-ramp access into the harbour. I imagine that the fishingis also good.

The Fortrose reserve is a choice location. We throughly enjoyed our brief stay.