Sea inlet to Porpoise Bay always has a great display of waves crashing on the rocks.
Porpoise Bay surfers love this area
Curio Bay Is well known for its Petrified Forest, Yellow Eyed Penguins and Hector Dolfins
A walk along the coastline at low tide will take you over the spectacular fossilized forest at Curio Bay. The fossils are abundant underfoot and in the cliffs. A most magical experience. The fossils date back about 160 million years, making it one of the unique places in the world where you can view a fossilized forest dating back to “Jurassic times”. Fossilized trees related to the Kauri and Norfolk Pines of today, as well as fern-like plants have been found. This unique Petrified Forest gives scientists an amazing insight into what forests and plant species were like 160 million years ago at a time when New Zealand was still part of the massive continent known as Gondwana. The fossils have been exposed over the centuries as the strong wave action of the sea has eroded away the sand, clay and rocks around the silicone filled fossils. The exposed tree trunks, logs and root systems to be found on the coastal shelf make a most spectacular sight and are well worth a visit.
Curio Bay, home to the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguins, 'Hoiho' they are mostly seen after sunrise and near sunset, please keep dogs away from here and respect the penguins, this is their home. Curio Bay/Porpoise Bay is also known for the Hectors dolphins that play in the surf in the sheltered Bay opposite Curio Bay, which is divided by a narrow neck of land. Surfers enjoy the waves here too. There is a camp site with amenities, a shop for treats and basic supplies, when walking on the beach be aware of the sleeping sea lions, they look like rocks on the beach.
