The Catlins is a truly pristine environment. Within this area there is the largest remaining stand of native podocarp forest left on the east coast of the South Island, New Zealand. It comprises over 50,000 hectares, of temperate coastal rainforest, where forest meets sea and is host to many native species of birds and sea life. We are all indeed privileged to be in this very special and unspoilt part of the world. Home to the last, but extinct, Moa birds, found in New Zealand.

In order to preserve this special place in paradise, Catlins McLean Falls Eco Holiday Park, has a Carbon Neutral Environmental Goal. As part of this goal, we have retired two working sheep farms in the Catlins and planted a Kyoto Protocol Compliant Forest to absorb the green house gas emissions and carbon produced in the course of our motor caravan holidays. In July 1996, we planted one million trees, on your behalf, on the McClennan Range, Catlins, immediately adjacent to this Holiday Park.

To further assist in this goal, we have used recycled buildings. Most were built in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. The Kiwiana two-person cabins were built in the South Island and used to house the single men who built the many dams along the Clutha River. They were used at Borland Lodge Youth Adventure Camp for many years and were to be scrapped. We relocated them and fully restored them adding a covered deck, upgraded carpets and heating. You will enjoy the twist of nostalgia and additional comfort way beyond what was experienced by those workers of yester year!

The ablution and kitchen facility comes from the Karitane Motor Camp, which was sold for development, near Dunedin. It has been totally restored and renovated to a very high standard with tiled and heated floors. The new corrugated paneling gives the facility a modern ‘country club’ feel.

The Park Common Room was rescued from an old farmhouse near Wyndham. After a few modifications and a good tidy up, the building has taken on a whole new lease of life, ready for the next fifty years.

The motel en-suite buildings were rescued from the top floor of the Fiordland Motor Lodge in Te Anau. The building was so large it had to be chain sawed through the middle and trucked in two sections to its new home in the Catlins. A new modern kitchen was added to allow guests to dine within the building and the large rooms renovated and modernized. Double-glazed, picture windows completed the renovation and allowed views of the surrounding native forest from each room.

The Park Utility Building is a well constructed school building from the Southern Institute of Technology, in Invercargill.

Finally, the new kid on the block, ‘Bellbird Cottage’, was relocated from a farm stay in Te Anau.

This is one of the only motor parks in New Zealand that is entirely constructed using recycled buildings. We feel that this helps the environment and at the same time allowed us to get the Park up and running in record breaking time. The Park was open just six months after the first building arrived. Normal building processes would have added huge amounts of time to the construction process.

Welcome to our little corner in paradise, we certainly appreciate your support!