Otago And Southland Regions
Otago and
Southland take up the bottom right-hand corner of the
South Island - and what a corner! More than a wee dram of Scottish culture, enough gold to build a nation, wildlife and a great southern pride that'll make you feel at home.
And then, about 950 kilometres south of Invercargill in the Great Southern Ocean is the World Heritage Site of the Subantarctic Islands (Auckland, Snares, Campbell, Bounty and the Antipodes). You need special permits to visit these fragile environments.
Invercargill The closest most people will get to the islands is the Roaring Forties Experience at the
Southland Museum and Art Gallery in Invercargill (population 53,000), Southland's main centre. You'll find it in the expansive 80 hectare Queens Park that was created by the town's designer, John Turnbull, in 1856. The museum has kept tuataras since 1961 and now has 50 of these ancient reptiles.
The Georgian-style mansion at the immaculately kept 20-hectare Anderson Park looks like one of Elton John's homes, but it's a gallery specialising in New Zealand art. The best view of Invercargill is from its highest point, the 42-metre Romanesque water tower, built in 1889.
Bluff and Stewart Island Locals reckon State Highway One starts (not ends!) at Bluff, about 30 minutes south of Invercargill. Drop in on well-known local attraction the Paua House, whose walls are covered with polished paua shells collected by the house's late owners, Fred and Myrtle Flutey.
There's a 60-minute ferry crossing from Bluff to Stewart Island or a 20-minute flight from Invercargill. The Department of Conservation administers 92 percent of the island's 165,000 hectares. It has 1600km of coast, one town and only 20km of road, and is mostly cloaked in native forest. It also hosts a large kiwi population (and is the best place in New Zealand to see them in the wild) and grows 28 endemic plant species. Its Rakiura Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks.
Catlins Coast Bordering Southland and Otago is the Catlins Coast. Huge rollers from the southern ocean pummel gaunt headlands and sweeping beaches. Towering podocarp and beech forests spread from hills to coast. You'll hear and see the tui, korimako (bellbird), mohua (yellowhead), riroriro (grey warbler), and more.
You may also see penguins, including the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin); Hooker's sealions, Hector's dolphins, elephant and New Zealand fur seals, and seabirds such as mollymawks, gannets, titi (sooty shearwaters) and albatross.
DunedinDunedin (named after the Old Gaelic form of Edinburgh) has New Zealand's only whiskey distillery, a professional theatre, more than 140 cafés and a vibrant city centre. It all started in earnest when it became the centre of the 1860s gold rush in Otago. Over 6000 miners descended on the Tuapeka River within weeks of gold being discovered there in 1861. Gold made Dunedin the commercial and industrial centre of New Zealand until it ran out in 1867.
The only mainland Albatross colony in the world is at Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula. It's open all year and only 30 minutes' drive from Dunedin. About 19,000 of Dunedin's 120,000 residents are students, attending New Zealand's oldest university. It was built 20 years after the largely Scottish settlers arrived here in 1848.
Out and About One of New Zealand's finest social history museums, the Otago Settlers Museum, tells the stories of the early settlers. Their legacy includes 24 buildings listed with the Historic Places Trust as worthy of permanent protection.
When you catch the
Taieri Gorge train, which shows off the stonework, tunnels and iron latticework viaducts of the Taieri Gorge, you'll be just as impressed with the Dunedin Railway Station. Built from 1904 to 1907 in the Flemish Renaissance style, its interior features mosaic-tiled floors and stained glass windows.
Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand, was built by William Larnach in 1871. It has several interesting period features, including Italian marble, Venetian glass, English tiles and a Georgian hanging staircase. It's en route to the Taiaroa Head albatross colony.
Townships Alexandra (population 4600) started life as an offshoot of
Clyde (population 850), and retains its historic character through several renovated buildings.
Cromwell (population 2600), on the Cromwell Gorge, was moved during the 1980s as parts of the old town were flooded when the new Clyde Dam was filled. A historic precinct at
Old Cromwell is now a popular centre for arts and crafts.
Roxburgh (population 740) is a fruit growing centre and once had 20 gold dredges working the nearby Clutha River during the gold rush.