Fleurieu Magic: Two Go Adventuring in New Zealand: Part 2 Dunedin and Invercargill

Our adventure continues.

We motored south to Dunedin a couple of hours away. Meanwhile, our guide book said we should stop and inspect the Moeraki boulders on the way. We were intrigued as the description of them sounded fascinating. They are a group of grey spherical stones scattered along a beach, formed around 60 million years ago on the sea bed. Evidently, lime salts gradually accumulated (and we're talking millions of years now) around a hard core of seafloor mudstone that eventually eroded leaving these stones exposed. They are found on a number of beaches in NZ (best seen at low tide) and, I discovered, in many other places in the world. I'm afraid we were a bit underwhelmed with them.

This one was a biggie.

And so to Dunedin, New Zealand's oldest city that was modelled on the Scottish city of Edinburgh. When we first arrived it reminded me of Launceston in Tassie, with houses tumbling down very steep hills surrounding the city nestled below. We had only two days to visit so didn't really immerse ourselves in, as the guidebook said, its:

youthful exuberance - the University of Otago is here, but as we were here on a Tuesday, not a lot of youth around
fashionable eateries - though we did have a great lunch at a trendy cafe
haunting architecture - I loved the railway station which is described as the best example of railway station architecture in the southern hemisphere
cultural hub - we enjoyed our visit to the impressive Art Gallery.

This was the only windy day we encountered which made sightseeing a bit unpleasant. However, Steve discovered Relics, an LP and CD shop and was delighted to find some gems he did not have, and I found a shop specialising in all things woollen. I bought a possum and merino poncho. So we both decided that Dundein was not too bad after all. Here's a snapshot of what we saw.

The railway station

Statue of Scottish poet Robert Burns and the First Otago Church.

The Dunedin Public Art Gallery kept us spellbound for an hour or so with its eclectic and imaginative displays.

We stayed outside Dunedin in a place called Mosgeil, once a sleepy little village, now a bustling commuter town. Our accommodation was Longbourne Lodge, a few kilometres away from the town centre. We were well and truly in the country surrounded by grassy fields, forests, birds and a wonderful sense of peace and quiet. We did a couple of walks here: the Outram Glen River Walk, a narrow, winding track running alongside the river with bowers of greenery on both sides...

... and the Woodside Glen walk, a lovely very Englishy stroll through a daisy-dotted meadow close to a bubbling stream surrounded by thick native forest resplendent with soft green foliage.

We were finding the meals a bit of an expense so had a lot of fun exploring the local supermarket and purchasing breakfast and dinner provisions - and of course that included treats such as a boysenberry tart, an apple turnover, a blueberry muffin ........

Now it was onwards to Invercargill, the country's southernmost city. But to get there we decided to bypass the major highway and instead drive the Southern Scenic Route that snaked its way along the rugged coastline and surrounding hills. This 215km stretch of road passed beaches, headlands with lighthouses, forests, waterfalls, walking tracks, high cliffs and the fossilised remains of a 160-million-year-old forest. We didn't manage to stop at all of these sights, but what we did see was spectacular.

At first, the drive was through a built-up area of holiday homes. We sighted the lighthouse at Nugget Point in the distance but kept driving until we came to the sign that indicated Purakaunui Falls. This is a must-see stop. The walk to the falls was through a heavily timbered native forest of tall trees and fern trees.

A hint of what was to come with this small version.

And then - the falls themselves. a truly magical jewel in the forest.

A lovely tourist took our photo.

Next stop was at Lake Wilkie where we had a picnic lunch.

Our final stop was at Waipapa Point. A lighthouse dominates the headland and beach here,

the site of New Zealand's worst civilian shipwreck back in 1881, when the SS Taratua ran aground on the nearby reef. The lighthouse, built after the disaster, sits alone in its isolated setting.

We soon arrived at Invercargill (supposedly the coldest and rainiest place in the south) to be greeted by a brisk breeze and a weak sun trying to shoo away the clouds, so not so bad. Invercargill is a regional and commercial hub so we drove through a heavily built up area of agricultural support services, machinery businesses, hardware stores, shipping containers, car and caravan yards, and repair shops.

We were soon driving through the city centre, trying to spot our motel; quick glimpses revealed a small city with Victorian buildings, wide streets, parks, and not a lot of traffic. The region was settled by Scottish immigrants around the 1850s and this link is shown in its street names - every one of them named after a Scottish river.

We settled into our accommodation and, as the evening was soon upon us, went off in search of dinner. As we are now so far down south the evenings extend past 9:00 o'clock.

The next day we explored the city. Our first stumbling block after we parked the car was the sign that said 'Park By Plate'. What on earth did that mean? Steve popped into an office and a helpful local told us that we had to enter our car's number plate, then press the hours we wanted to stay before putting in the coins. Apparently, city officers come along and can scan a car's number plate to find out how much longer the car has to park. Simple when you know what to do. Thanking our helper profusely we began to explore. It was rather strange as the streets were deserted and the shops showed little signs of life. Where was everybody? We ventured into a shopping complex called, encouragingly, Invercargill Central, but it could have been anywhere with the usual brand name stores. Frustratingly we couldn't find the 'lively cafes and restaurants' the guide book extolled.

One person is the only sign of life in this central city mall.

We admired the lovely facades on the buildings that lined the streets.

What a great way to add a little sparkle to a facade.

We noticed there were quite a lot of different churches here.

I thought the publicity for an Ed Sheeran concert next to the war memorial made for a rather quirky composition.

One thing I did want to buy was a walking pole, and I discovered one at Southern Adventures, a 'camping and tramping' store, where the very friendly shop assistant sold me a beauty.

Continuing to walk on, we decided that there was nothing here to keep us staying. Yes, the streets were nice and wide. Yes, the architecture on the buildings was grand and very Victorian. But there was not even an enticing cafe, bookshop or gift shop in sight. Perhaps we were in the wrong precinct We were now getting tired, so headed back to the car to drive to Bluff, New Zealand's oldest own and its southern-most port, 22 kms away.

Bluff had three sides to it - a busy port, a small town, a coastal walking track. It's well-known for its signpost.