THE SOUTH - Invercargill, Fiordland, Milford Sound

INVERCARGILL (April 12-13)

The next morning we headed further south to Invercargill/Bluff and it came quite early as we weren’t completely recovered from the big adrenaline day the day before. It was a beautiful morning though with a colourful sunrise to greet us.

Sunrise in Queenstown

We passed through Invercargill and stopped in Bluff to drop some of the group off that were ferrying to Stewart Island for the day. Stewart Island is the third major island of New Zealand and is the most southern one. I believe the ferry ride is about 2.5 hours and can be pretty rough. The island is known for its walks and abundant bird life. We decided to pass on this adventure because it was a bit out of our price range and we’re not necessarily “bird people”. 

After they were dropped off we spent some time in Bluff. Bluff is the most southern town in New Zealand. It has a population of ~2,100 and acts as the port for Invercargill. As the most southern town it has some touristy things to see- the Stirling Point signpost (similar to that in Cape Reinga) and the huge chain link sculpture. This sculpture symbolizes the Maori legend where the South Island is the canoe of Maui and Stewart Island is the boat’s anchor. There is a chain link on both islands “connecting” the two. We of course went for some photos with these. Bluff is also known for its oysters but we never tried any.

Stirling Point signpost

Chain link from Bluff to Stewart Island

On our way back up to Invercargill we made a stop at Oreti Beach. This beach is known for the racing of the “World’s Fastest Indian”, a supped up Indian motorcycle worked on and raced by the infamous Burt Munro. There was actually a film produced based on his life and career in 2005 but we have yet to see it. 

Oreti Beach

After getting set up at the hostel, we ventured to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, one of the only things to do in Invercargill. Here we saw New Zealand’s living dinosaurs- tuataras. Henry is the main tuatara, over 100 years old and bred for the first time when he was 80! We saw some of his babies there that were just about to celebrate their first month birthday. The museum also had an exhibit of the World’s Fastest Indian which was cool to see. There was another “exhibit” with the bikes in a local hardware store, E Hayes & Sons.

Me with Henry, the tuatara

Adrian with the "World's Fastest Indian"

That evening we joined our group for some eats and pints at the local Speight’s Ale House. Speight’s is one of the main breweries in New Zealand first brewed in Dunedin and now there are ale houses all over the country.

GUNN’S CAMP / MILFORD SOUND (April 13-14)

The next morning we caught up with Maria, a girl from Holland that we became pretty good friends with but we had gone our separate ways from Taupo. She had spent some extra days in a few places when we did the East Coast so we were able to travel a bit more together leaving Invercargill.

Our destination for the evening was Gunn’s Camp in Fiordland. Along the way we checked out Monkey Island, bbqed infamous Tuatapere sausages on Fraser’s Island beach, took a walk along Mirror Lakes boardwalk and visited Lake Gunn. Just down the road was Gunn’s Camp and it was like going back in time. We slept in cabins that were heated by fireplaces. Electricity was run off a generator which was shut off at 10pm. There were no fridges to keep food in. No internet or cell phone reception. It was quite a secluded place. Nice to stay at for a day or two to just get away from everything for a bit. 

Our driver/guide, "Chooks", cooking sausages

Mirror Lakes

The only thing we really disliked about the place was the sandflies. Sandflies are similar to mosquitos but smaller in size and MUCH itchier bites! We had experienced them a bit while on the South Island and seen how bad they could get from other people showing us but Gunn’s Camp definitely took the cake for the amount we would see. There were literally swarms of them that would follow you and you had to wear spray at all times. Somehow we made it out fairly clear of any bites.

Overview of Gunn's Camp

Adrian in a massive hollow tree near Gunn's Camp

Only there for the evening really we had a group meal of nachos (which was more like corn chips and bean dip but still really good) and spent our time hanging out with our new “South trip” group, as we left a lot of our other group behind in Queenstown. We started the fire earlier in the evening so by the time we went to bed, the cabin was toasty warm.

The next morning we were off to Milford Sound where we would be taking a cruise trip throughout the Sound. Considered a must-do and one of the only ways to really see the Sound, we were quite looking forward to it. It was a great morning for it. The fog had cleared, there were no real clouds, and it was quite calm. The whole cruise was about two hours, going almost out to open water and back. Along the way we saw massive sheer rock faces, flowing waterfalls, Mitre Peak (1,692m), dolphins and a seal. Overall a very enjoyable and memorable trip.

Waterfalls

Mitre Peak

After the cruise we started our way back to Queenstown for the evening. On the way back we did the short Chasm Walk, drove through Homer Tunnel, took a short break in Te Anau. Because we only had the evening in Queenstown we just walked around the town and took it all in a bit more compared to our last visit which was completely adrenaline-fueled.  Queenstown just has so much to offer and you really don’t have to spend a lot to have a great time. There are plenty of walks to do and free activities like Frolf (Frisbee golf). If we had the chance to come back we agreed we would and do all these activities, plus visit the areas around Queenstown like Arrowtown and Wanaka.

Te Anau with a pukeko and the lake in the background

Another shot of Queenstown