Dunedin to Catlins to Bluff

Next stop was Curio Bay where we were keen to see the petrified forest. This area was once a broad floodplain surrounded by active volcanoes and the fallen trees as well as the lower parts of the forest trees were buried and turned to stone. The fossils are easily accessible by stairs down to the rocky coastal shelf below this viewing platform. The petrified wood looks very much like real wood yet feels just like stone.  Select the photo below to see some of these petrified logs up closer.