We started out from Dunedin with blue skies overhead as we cruised along in the yellow splendor of gorse-covered hills, populated by grazing sheep and cattle as we were headed for Bluff, the southernmost town of the South Island.
On the way we briefly re-visited one of New Zealand's oldest resident in the town of Invercargill. Henry, a tuatara, has been living in captivity for about 50 years and is estimated to be over 120 years old. Tutataras are reptiles endemic to NZ, resembling a lizard but with a distinct lineage dating back 220 million years. Henry made news headlines 10 years ago when, at the estimated ripe age of 111 years he became father for the very first time, after ignoring females for all the previous years. Quite an interesting story to read up! We visited Henry at his home, the Southland Museum, the first time 20 years ago and were happy to see him once again.
The tiny town of Bluff (pop. 1850) near Invercargill is commonly referred to as the southernmost point on the South Island. This is technically not quite correct, as the nearby "Slope Point" really takes that honor. However, there is no road leading to Slope Point, thus Bluff is the southernmost readily accessible location. Of course, besides the two main islands of New Zealand, there are plenty of more islands further to the south, such as the inhabited Stewart Island 30 km to the south with a population of some 380 people mainly employed in tourism, fishing and some agriculture.
I hope that you will enjoy this foray to the utmost south.
I recommend viewing the pictures in download.
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1 - En route from Dunedin to Invercargill: Flock of sheep at the base of a gorse-covered hill
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2 - En route from Dunedin to Invercargill: Gorse-covered hill and grazing sheep
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3 - Grazing sheep
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4 - Invercargill - Southland Museum: Tuatara statue
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5 - Invercargill - Southland Museum Zoo: Long-time Tuatara resident Henry, at least 120 years old, who finally became a father a few years ago
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6 - Bluff - Road to Bluff Hill Lookout with view of the Southern Ocean
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7 - Bluff - View from Bluff Hill Lookout
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8 - Bluff - Moody view from Bluff Hill Lookout
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9 - Bluff - Rocky southern shore, at the distance the lighthouse on Dog Island
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10 - Bluff - Signpost displaying distances to major world cities as well as to Cape Reinga at the top of NZ, where we are eventually heading for
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Very nice. Enjoyed that sign.
NMGal wrote:
Very nice. Enjoyed that sign.
Thank you Barbara - there is a very similar sign up on the northernmost point of the North Island at Cape Reinga which then points down to Bluff - and indicates a bunch of other places of course.
dancers
Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia
I believe that Invercargill is the southern most CITY on earth.
It is the place where the cold eats through one's bones!!!!!!!!!
dancers wrote:
I believe that Invercargill is the southern most CITY on earth.
It is the place where the cold eats through one's bones!!!!!!!!!
Good try, dancers, and it is definitely ONE of the southernmost CITIES on earth, actually coming in at #10 for cities with a population of 10'000 or more. The cigar goes to ...... Ushuaia/Argentina at a latitude of 54 degrees and 58'000 inhabitants. With the exception of Punta Arenas/Chile at at latitude of 53 degrees and population of 130'000, all the 7 other cities with more southern latitudes than Invercargill are in Argentina.
But thanks for your comment - it had me scurrying to Wikipedia for this extra bit of knowledge ....
dancers
Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia
weberwest wrote:
Good try, dancers, and it is definitely ONE of the southernmost CITIES on earth, actually coming in at #10 for cities with a population of 10'000 or more. The cigar goes to ...... Ushuaia/Argentina at a latitude of 54 degrees and 58'000 inhabitants. With the exception of Punta Arenas/Chile at at latitude of 53 degrees and population of 130'000, all the 7 other cities with more southern latitudes than Invercargill are in Argentina.
But thanks for your comment - it had me scurrying to Wikipedia for this extra bit of knowledge ....
Good try, dancers, and it is definitely ONE of the... (
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That is what I was told in 1972....but I do know the young bus driver was a bit of a liar.....LOL .. enjoy your trip!
dancers wrote:
That is what I was told in 1972....but I do know the young bus driver was a bit of a liar.....LOL .. enjoy your trip!
I wouldn't be too tough on the memory with the then young bus driver - 1972 was a long time ago and he was probably relating what he was told and you couldn't do your research on google and even encyclopedias were then probably rare and not necessarily up to date. And here is an interesting fact: While Ushuaia is now the largest southern city, 40 years ago it had only 5'000 inhabitants, so facts do change over time. Interestingly, Ushuaia seems to have had one of the largest city population increases in the world over the past decades. Sounds like in 1972 when you were down there, Punta Arenas with some 65'000 population would have been the largest city. Nothing is as constant in life as change ....
dancers
Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia
the driver, being a smart yOUNG man told us, the day we went to Milford Sound, in the heaviest rain I had ever seem....."You are SO lucky to see rain here............it is the driest place in the South Island"
This as we drove through rain forest!!!!!
dancers wrote:
the driver, being a smart yOUNG man told us, the day we went to Milford Sound, in the heaviest rain I had ever seem....."You are SO lucky to see rain here............it is the driest place in the South Island"
This as we drove through rain forest!!!!!
OK, I guess that seals it - Milford Sound and the Milford Trek have been known for ages to be wet upon wet - so I guess you are right - he was just fibbing. But one interesting fact: To take a cruise on the Milford Sound - right AFTER it rained - is one of the best moments to do it - because then you see an abundance of waterfalls cascading down from the slopes bordering the sound. - Interesting how this exchange moved on to the Milford Sound: the next two days, I will present my pictures first of the drive up to the Sound, and then at the Sound itself - one of the most scenic natural spots I have experienced (twice) in my long life.
dancers
Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia
weberwest wrote:
OK, I guess that seals it - Milford Sound and the Milford Trek have been known for ages to be wet upon wet - so I guess you are right - he was just fibbing. But one interesting fact: To take a cruise on the Milford Sound - right AFTER it rained - is one of the best moments to do it - because then you see an abundance of waterfalls cascading down from the slopes bordering the sound. - Interesting how this exchange moved on to the Milford Sound: the next two days, I will present my pictures first of the drive up to the Sound, and then at the Sound itself - one of the most scenic natural spots I have experienced (twice) in my long life.
OK, I guess that seals it - Milford Sound and the ... (
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I did the Milford walk.......... The bus driver went to KonTiki tours (Overseas) and returned sticking needles in his arm...I imagine he is ong dead now.
Very nice photos. My wife and I went to Australia and New Zealand in 2017. We did eastern Australia so your Western OZ photos were new to me. We drove south to north in NZ so your recent photos are more familiar. I'm looking forward to your next posts.
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