Te Anau to Invercargill

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We get up very early since we have to be outside for our bus to pick us up at 7:15 am. It was raining so we tried to stay under cover until the bus came about 7:25 am. We changed buses in Gore, which was a larger city than we thought it would be. We arrived in Invercargill about 11:00 am and the bus driver dropped us right in front of our motel. Our room was not ready so we dropped our bags and went to find lunch. We were hungry since we got going so early and the first place we came to was a Burger King. We usually don’t eat at American restaurants while we are on the road but we were really tired of the usual Kiwi fare so it looked pretty good. We both enjoyed our fast food meal and went to look for the Information Center in Invercargill.
The Information Center was a bit of a disappointment, with little information, but was attached to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Now let me say that Invercargill is probably the most outwardly conservative city (larger ones) we have come across in NZ. One of the exhibits in the art gallery was a display of photos dating from 1975 to present of drag queens. There was no real explanation of the purpose of the exhibit so we aren’t sure why it was there but it seemed out of place in Invercargill. The museum was interesting (as they usually are in NZ) with well done displays. One of the displays was of living Tuatara, the only remaining reptile in the same species as the dinosaur and extremely rare. They were thought to be extinct until they were discovered in NZ. The Southland Museum has the only successful breeding program.
We left the museum and walked around Invercargill. It is a charming NZ city that seems even more 1950’s than the rest of their cities. We found an Internet café where we could hook-up our laptop and decided we would come back tomorrow. We stopped at The Rock Café for dinner and had a very good meal with a wonderful presentation. The only downside was the restaurant was really warm. We are surprised it is so hot here and are wondering what it will be like on Stewart Island.
On the way back to our room we stop at the grocery store to pick up some things for breakfast. Back at our room we watch a little television then go to bed.

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