The weather today was a complete contrast from yesterday but that didn't deter the 9 people who were keen to explore some short walks in The Catlins. We made the 2 hour drive south to the McLean Falls which was the first of our short walks. The temperature was very cold with evidence of a recent hail storm lying on the sides of the track so we donned jackets for the 20 minute walk to the falls. The bush in The Catlins is beautiful rain forest with the trees dripping water and moss with the track being wide and graveled making for good walking beside the river. Near the end of the track there are a number of steps that take you to McLean Falls. 
The 22m McLean Falls are one of the more spectacular falls in the area and we spent some time here, taking photos and marveling at the sheer power of the water cascading over the falls. While we could have stayed longer, we had other walks to do so with regret we headed back to the cars where our next stop was the Tautuku Estuary Walk which is a short 30 minute return walk that follows an old sawmill track through native podocarp forest. We found the information signs dotted along the track telling us a little of the history interesting and before long we were onto the boardwalk that took over the mudflats, through the coloured jointed rush/oioi to a viewing platform in the middle of the estuary. 
We were encouraged by the blue sky that was trying to make an appearance and we enjoyed the calm and peace of the estuary. Aware that time was getting on, we retraced our steps back to the cars and crossed the road to the Lenz Reserve which was once a sawmill site and was purchased by Forest & Bird in 1964. Today the front part of the reserve has information signs and some historical relics from the sawmill days while the majority of the land has been left to regenerating native forest with a couple of tracks following old tram tracks. 
We opted for the short nature walk, saving the longer tramway for another day. The bush walk was interesting as it followed the tram line up the hill and through a number of cuttings before coming to the track junction that designates the shorter nature walk. It was about now that the fun really started with a loud noise as the it started to hail, with the large hail piercing the upper forest canopy. As we were about half way through the walk, there was nothing we could do, except keep going. The hail got larger and heavier as we continued walking and didn't start to ease off until we reached the end of the nature walk, changing instead to rain. 
The rain got heavier as we raced back to the cars and then drove to the Florence Hill Lookout for lunch. The wind was blowing and the rain was still heavy so we opted for lunch in the car. Unfortunately it appeared the rain had set in for the day so the decision was made to cut our day short and head home. Despite not getting to complete all the walks we had intended, the day was still a lot of fun and we managed to get most of the short walks in, leaving a few meaning a return visit is needed. 
