Day 7: Southern Coast

27 November 2020

We are packed and ready at 7.00 this morning, packs stacked at reception and waiting for breakfast. We have an 8.00am ferry ride back to Bluff. It has rained quite heavily and there is a wind but the harbour is still pretty flat.

But it is a completely different story as the ferry pulls out round the corner into Foveaux Strait. The wind is strong but on its own not particularly troublesome, however the Strait is fairly shallow and combined with swells, wind and tide motion it is very rough. Several people were asked to bring their afternoon trip forward so it is possible that they may have to cancel later sailings.

I have taken my sea sickness tablets and find a seat that is looking out the back door. I have never stared so hard at the horizon for so long, focusing on my breathing. Poor Anjuka discovered that she does get seasick, but the crew appeared well used to helping in these conditions.

An hour later we are safely tied up at Bluff wharf and collect our bags. First stop is the end point of State Highway 1 and the famous sign post, and also the other end of Maui’s anchor chain that was thrown out with Stewart Island as the anchor (we saw the other end on our bus tour on Stewart Island). We also see the restaurant that is now infamous as the site of the wedding that became one of NZ’s first COVID clusters.

It is a short journey from there to Invercargill where I am leaving the tour to spend the weekend with my friend Anne. The ‘handover’ has been arranged outside MacDonalds on the main drag as we pass through town. The others will continue back on to Queenstown for the end of the tour.

Anne and I were best friends at school from Form 1/Year 7. It has taken me much too long to visit her in Invercargill but I did visit when she lived in Te Anau and Kerikeri.

Anne has planned a scenic drive around the southern coast (the Riverton-Aparima South Coast Heritage Trail) but first we drive past her old house that I never got to see and then stop for morning tea at the lovely little cafe at the garden center where she works.

There is an extremely cold southerly blowing and it is starting to rain. As we reach the township of Riverton, we see a rain squall moving quickly over the estuary – one minute we are about to get out and take a picture and the next we are in the midst of a heavy hailstorm.

We head on round the stormy coastline and Anne makes sure I get out (often fighting the wind to even get the car door open!) to see the key sights such as they are today.

Cozy Nook in Mullet Bay is a fascinating little place steeped in Maori history – being one of the largest Maori settlements in Southland in the 1820s. Now it just has a few little cottages that all look like they have seen better days but it provides a little haven for us to walk around out of the wind for a few minutes, before watching the waves break over the rocks along the coastline.

After a photo stop at Gemstone Bay we head to the Orepuki Beach Cafe at Te Waewae Bay. The fire is roaring and we thaw out whilst enjoying a delicious baked cod lunch.

Then we take the long way home going inland around the Longwoods, passing through tiny settlements that have various self-proclaimed reasons for fame. Tuatapere is the Sausage Capital of New Zealand apparently and has painted murals including one where you can pretend you are out walking on a great walk.

On the way around we stop into one of her friend’s farms for a touch of Southland hospitality with a cup of tea and some home baking, and a quick stop in the town of Winton to pick up some ingredients for dinner.

When we get home we join her partner Donald in the tractor shed where he and some of the local ‘boys’ are having a beer around the log burner. Eventually Anne and I and her neighbour retreat to the house to have something to eat, then I am exhausted so I head off to bed.

Join me over the next few days to find out more about my adventures:

Day 1 New Zealand Southern Loop

Day 2 Queenstown to Te Anau

Day 3 Milford Sound

Day 4 Te Anau to the Catlins

Day 5 Catlins to Stewart Island

Day 6 Stewart Island

Day 7 Southern Coast

Day 8 Invercargill