Clutha District

Clutha is the deep south’s quiet treasure, home to the Catlins, where you’ll find waterfalls, sea lions on the beach and yellow-eyed penguins coming ashore at dusk. The mighty Clutha River, the country’s biggest by volume, runs through the lot.

Balclutha’s the main town, with farming settlements scattered across a big rural district that runs all the way to a wild, lonely coast. It’s properly off the tourist trail, which keeps it affordable and unspoiled. For anyone after space, scenery and a price tag from another era, it’s hard to fault.

There are 120 suburbs and localities across the district. This page gathers them so you can compare properly: who lives where, what it costs to buy in, how the schools rate, and how far each spot really is from the bigger centres.

Penguins, waterfalls and a very big river. Pick a suburb and have a look at the Clutha.