DUNEDIN - EDINBURGH OF THE SOUTH
Often maligned, often overlooked, DUNEDIN offers many attractions for the visitor with a couple of days to devote to exploring.
Do not miss the Otago Museum and the Otago Settlers Museum, both of which now offer free admission and have a very high class of display. First Presbyterian Church (close to the city centre) offers a small heritage centre (behind and to the right of the church as you approach from the main gate) which is open for a few hours most days.
Cadbury World - Cadbury chocolate's visitor centre and factory tour - is open every day, though the factory itself is not operational weekends/public holidays. A tour takes about 1.25 hours. In the middle of each year Dunedin holds a chocolate festival, with extended CadburyWorld tours and tasting in the evening. Other events include a Jaffa ( a chocolate confection, an orange flavoured candy coating with a chocolate centre) race down the world's steepest street, Baldwin Street. You may even be able to sample chocolate flavoured beer on offer at Speights Brewery. Surprisingly it is a very pleasant brew!
Taiaroa Heads on the Otago Peninsula offers a number of opportunities to study wildlife (albatross and yellow-eyed penguins in particular) as well as a number of man-made places of interest such as Fort Taiaroa which has the the only working-order Armstrong Disappearing Gun (1886) of it's type left in the world!
If you take the scenic drive to Taiaroa Heads you can visit 3 homes and gardens:
Glenfalloch Woodland Garden approximately 15 minutes from the city centre,
Larnach Castle, well signposted from the upper and lower roads
Fletcher House, a typical Edwardian villa built in 1909 by Sir James Fletcher. This house is open daily.
There are many other sights and attractions. For details
On the city side of Otago Harbour lies Port Chalmers, a small port town which now houses the container port. The small maritime museum (Regional Maritime Museum Port Chalmers)- housed in the old post-office - displays an eclectic collection. Careys Bay is a short distance on from Port Chalmers. It offers a newly renovated hotel/pub/restaurant. More details.
MONARCH Cruises offer wildlife cruises, dinner cruises to Careys Bay etc.
In Dunedin we have stayed at BROTHERS BOUTIQUE HOTEL, a small hotel which is the former Christian Brothers' Residence. It is close to the city and Speights Brewery, offers free off-street parking and a continental breakfast. We also have stayed at the QUEST in Dunedin, a new apartment hotel close to the city centre and very reasonably priced.
QUEENSTOWN - Gateway to Fiordland and "Adventure Capital of the World"
QUEENSTOWN ...
... offers a wide variety of activities from bungy-jumping to jet boating and cruises on the lake, and a lot in between.
There is a wide selection of accommodation options in Queenstown and the surrounding district,international, backpackers, kiwi-style to to 5-star. You can book online here.
We recommend a trip on the gondola, perhaps enjoying the fine dining in the restaurant at the top with sparkling views over the town and lake. A special delight at night. TSS Earnslaw (pictured right) offers a number of excursions including an evening trip to Walter Peak and dinner (seasonal). Kawerau (Two-rivers) jet and Shotover Jets are exhilarating. Tandem parapenting is a wonderful experience, but not perhaps for the faint hearted! Kiwi Birdlife Park is more gentle, but offers a variety of attractions including NZ native flora and fauna, It is situated in an 8-acre park close to the lower gondola station.
If you have time, take the day-trip to Skippers Canyon which offers a thrilling ride, scenery and history.
Other things to do in Queenstown include Bungy jumping, skydive (skydiving), scenic flights, skiing in season, rafting, kayaking, fishing, horse riding, cycling, walking, sailing, river boarding, hang-gliding, snowmobiling and snowboarding, canyoning, heliski-ing.
FIORDLAND ...
... a large, and almost totally unspoiled area at the SW corner of New Zealand. Here you can find glaciers, fiords, lakes, and mountains. Some 1.2 million hectares of the area is a National Park. Access is a little limited, but tourists can visit Milford Sound (to view Mitre Peak) and Doubtful Sound by joining an excursion trip from Queenstown or Te Anau. You can also drive to Milford Sound but this is an all-day trip and expect delays at the Homer Tunnel. Companies such as Real Journeys offer overnight stays aboard some of their vessels in both Sounds and we can thoroughly recommend the overnight trip to Doubtful Sound. If time is tight, a scenic flight by helicopter or light aircraft to Milford Sound is a scenic wonder. You can also charter a helicopter and set your own itinerary.
Walking one of the many tracks in Fiordland is a popular activity for those who have trained and prepared for the expereince.
Fiordland is renowned throughout the world for its trout fishing, hiking, camping, kayaking, boating, and diving.
Fiordland is also blessed with wildlife, such as the Fiordland crested penguin, which breed in the forests along the coast (these can be very difficult to spot!), dolphins and seals which are often viewed from excursion vessels especially in Doubtful Sound.
National Geographic Article about Fiordland
INVERCARGILL, New Zealand's southernmost city ...
offers a number of attractions, of the kind you would find in any similar sized city. Most visitors would visit the city en route to/from Stewart Island, Queenstown and Fiordland or driving along the scenic coastal route taking in the Catlins.
Invercargill is only served by Air New Zealand in terms of scheduled airlines; short-haul flights from Christchurch (about 7 flights a day) and Queenstown (4 flights). The main bus/coach lines also operate to the city.
Regular flights to Stewart Island are operated from Invercargill airport by Stewart Island Flights, a small private company.
BETTERPRICE HOTELS offer a number of accommodation options. We have personally stayed at the Heritage Court Motel. We found it comfortable, quiet and clean, well-situated for the city, just 3 minutes by car.
Things to do in Invercargill :
Anderson Park Art Gallery.
Southland Art Gallery and Museum.See Henry - a live tuatara who is over 120 years old.
Oreti Beach (follow the signs to the airport, then look for signs to the beach). Only recommended for swimming if you are hardy (or foolish!), but it is an impressive beach and the place where motorcycling legend Bert (Burt) Munro once raced.
There are a number of good walks in and around the city including Queens Park, which is laid out in the English style and includes the botanical gardens. Other walks: Sandy Point Domain, Foveaux Walkway, New River Estuary, Green Point Domain (halfway to Bluff, view the ships' graveyard - see photo below), Glory Track, City Spirit Walk.
The city has some very good eating spots.
BLUFF is often wrapped in with Invercargill, but has a character of its own. It is about 30 minutes south of Invercargill by car or shuttle (about $16 each way). Attractions there include Bluff Hill with its impressive views over Foveaux Strait, the Maritime Museum (an interesting and attractive small museum), Stirling Point light (the former signal station at the mouth of the harbour) and Lookout point with the famous signpost. Sadly the famed Paua House is now closed following an apparent family difference after the death of local characters Fred and Myrtle Flutey. See 'other walks' above. Accommodation options in Bluff
The Stewart Island Ferry leaves from Bluff, running a regular service from the Town Wharf. It is now operated by Stewart Island Experience a subsidiary of Real Journeys who operate a number of tourist activities in the Fiordland/Southland area. The trip takes about an hour.
The famed Bluff Oyster and Southland Seafood Festival is held towards the end of April each year. Check here for events.
STEWART ISLAND (Rakiura) ...
a delightfully unspoiled island, the southernmost inhabited island in New Zealand.
Stewart Island is on the southern side of Foveaux Strait, a short flight from Invercargill or ferry trip from Bluff (caution - the crossing of the Strait can be rough!) the island offers a number of accommodation options and is especially suited to those who like going out on the water for fishing etc or tramping. |
