Straddling the Otago-Southland border, the Catlins region comprises a rugged coast of sand beaches, towering sea cliffs and rock stacks, river valleys both forested and farmed, waterfalls and expansive estuaries, mountain ranges and the southernmost silver beech forest in New Zealand. In contrast to the mostly tamed and modified eastern seaboard of the South Island, the Catlins is sparsely populated and for the most part spectacularly wild.