What to do there
A half-hour drive south from Invercargill is the fishing port of Bluff—home to the famous Bluff oyster and the annual Bluff Oyster and Southland Seafood Festival. From Bluff, visitors can catch a ferry to Stewart Island. The island can also be reached by air from Invercargill. Stewart Island is a haven for native bird life and the only place in New Zealand where you can readily see kiwi in their natural habitat.
Stewart Island is a large island, 64 kilometres long and 40 kilometres across, so don't expect to walk around it in a day or even a week! It has 700 kilometres of coastline but there are only 20 kilometres of roads. As well as kiwi, the island is home to many other native bird varieties including kaka, tui and bellbird. Seabirds abound off-shore - albatross, petrels, cormorants, gulls and blue penguins are common and rarer species such as yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) are also often seen. Southland also has large areas of near-pristine rainforest, ideal for day walks and hiking. Curio Bay on the Catlins Coast is one of the geological wonders of the world. This petrified forest of subtropical kauri and other trees dates back to the Jurassic Age, 135 to 190 million years ago. For anyone keen on fishing Gore has Southland great brown trout on offer. There is nature in abundance in the Fiordland National Park, which is one of the largest national parks in the world, and scenic wonder at Milford and Doubtful sounds. The Te Anau glow-worm caves are also well worth visiting.
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