From
Te Anau we continued to head south on the Southern Scenic Route past Lake
Manapouri which is the gateway to scenic cruises of Doubtful Sound. Inaccessible by road, Doubtful Sound is
reputed to be even more stunning than Milford Sound but we will have to wait to
verify that claim for ourselves another time.
The
weather outlook for our sortie into Southland represented a turning point with
heavy rain and much cooler conditions forecast.
It is clear from the parched landscape and the frantic irrigation that
rain is much needed by the dairy farmers.
So there was no dissent at our morning coffee stop as we hunted out our
raincoats to view the historic 19th Century suspension bridge at
Clifden.
Clifden Suspension Bridge
Our
next stop was a brief pull-in at the lookout over the beach at Te Waewae but
there was no sign of the rare Hectors Dolphins in the heavy surf. We pressed on eagerly to our planned stop at
Riverton; not just because it is the South Island’s oldest town with a lovely
beach and a picturesque harbour, but it is also the location of the Beachhouse
Café. We had been introduced to the
Beachhouse Café on our previous trip and enjoyed a memorable feast of locally
fished Blue Cod. Whilst this time it wasn’t
a day to lunch on the deck overlooking the beach, the Stewart Island Blue Cod was,
again, superb.
Beachhouse Café
After
a further 40km we reached Invercargill, our base for the next two nights. No need for a camp ground here as we were
able to park-up with Mandy’s brother and family.
The clouds and rain continued throughout our stay but the silver lining was that we were able to catch-up with all of the Invercargill clan. We could get up to speed with all the latest gossip around wedding plans, house moves, celebrate a birthday and have some fun with the youngest of the family. It was also good to be able to freshen up the van after more than three weeks on the road!
So after 3,000km we have reached the southernmost point of our journey and we now turn the van towards the north for the next 2 weeks.
The clouds and rain continued throughout our stay but the silver lining was that we were able to catch-up with all of the Invercargill clan. We could get up to speed with all the latest gossip around wedding plans, house moves, celebrate a birthday and have some fun with the youngest of the family. It was also good to be able to freshen up the van after more than three weeks on the road!
So after 3,000km we have reached the southernmost point of our journey and we now turn the van towards the north for the next 2 weeks.
Overnight Parking at Invercargill
Having fun with the Invercargill Clan
No comments:
Post a Comment