Blogs from Southland, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania

What started off as wet, overcast day for a road trip, turned out to be an interesting day with unexpected bonus's. Rain belted down from Invercargill to Riverton, but despite that, we stopped at the Information Centre and Museum at Riverton to get some better information on the West Southland area. The lady there was very chatty and I soon found some information on geology and gemstones of the area. She suggested that we drive out to Riverton Rocks and check out the scenery there, which we did. I guess it was named for the very rocky coast but it's great for fishing, viewing dolphins, and fantastic views of Taramea Bay. I spied what looked like pillow lavas as we drove past and despite the rain, I put up the brolly, put on a raincoat and ... read more

When we first came to NZ five years ago, we visited the northernmost point of North Island – Cape Reinga. Today we went to the southernmost point of South Island – Slope Point. The weather forecast was bad so we were fully expecting to get soaked. However it was dry and much warmer than yesterday so we thoroughly enjoyed the walk. As you can see from the photo, the next land due South is the Antarctic, with a mere 4,803kms to the South Pole. We also visited Curio Bay where the rock on the beach is actually a petrified forest from the Jurassic period of around 180 million years ago. The adjacent living ancient forest is believed to be the only one in the world so close to a petrified forest and hence they have worldwide ... read more

Well here we are in The Catlins on the south of South Island. By the sound of it we did well to get away with a very short delay from Manchester with snow falling quite heavily as others weren’t so lucky. And our flights – Manchester to Doha (6hrs), Doha to Auckland (16hrs) and Auckland to Dunedin (1h30) – all went like clockwork so again timing was on our side. As we flew over the west coast of Australia I thought not far now but it was another 7 hours to Auckland. Dunedin airport is quaint. As our plane – the only one st the airport – pulled up, Chris pointed out the cows grazing at the side of us.After picking up our hire car and stopping at New World supermarket for a few provisions m, ... read more

Well the ferry trip back from Stewart Island was uneventful along with our 2 days in Invercargill. Invercargill doesn’t have a lot to offer for most tourists. But if you are there do go and visit the EHayes Hardware Store on Dee Street. No I'm not mad it’s the home to the E Hayes Motorworks Collection and the World’s Fastest Indian. What an amazing collection of Vintage Motorbikes, classic cars including the Burt Munro’s Indian Scout Motorbike. If you are not into bikes there is always the camping, hardware and impressive giftware section to wander through. There is also complimentary tea and coffee for the poor spouses left waiting while their partners take their time inspecting every bike and tool in the place. The other place to visit is the Invercargill Information centre and the home ... read more

Saturday (29/10) and its time to start heading South. First stop Taieri Mouth, the weather is a little cold and showery but nothing a brisk walk followed by a hot cuppa won’t fix. A few people trying their luck fishing here today, I think they might have to swing by the fish & chip shop on their way home though:). Further South is the little settlement of Toko Mouth and our stop for the night. The camping spot is under water so we park on the edge of the puddles (It’s a bit like having a lakefront property). The little cribs a rather cute with one having its own outdoor bath on the edge of the river. This is another pretty dangerous beach and swimming is not recommended. Sunday we follow the Coast road down to ... read more