Blog
Local advice, place guides and suburb guides from around Invercargill.
Local AdviceHunting on Stewart Island fromBlocks, Permits and Getting ThereStewart Island/Rakiura is home to wild white-tailed deer, and for many southern hunters a week on a coastal block is the trip of the year. It also takes more planning than most hunts: a permit system, a ferry or flight, a boat or plane to the block, and every bit of food and gear carried …Local AdviceInvercargill to Bluff for the Stewart Island FerryGetting There With Your Gear SortedTrips to Stewart Island/Rakiura usually start in Invercargill, and the first leg is the 30 kilometres down State Highway 1 to the ferry terminal at Bluff. It is a short drive, but it is the leg that tends to cause stress: a fixed sailing time, a check-in deadline, and often more gear than fits in …Local AdviceInvercargill to Queenstown Without a CarShuttles, Transfers and TimingInvercargill and Queenstown are only a couple of hours apart by road, but without a car the trip can look harder than it is. There is no direct flight, the national coach takes the long way round, and the regional options are easy to miss if you do not know they exist. Here is how …Coastal Beaches and BaysHalfmoon Bay, Stewart IslandSwimming, Water Quality and Bathing BeachEscape to Stewart Island's Halfmoon Bay, where sheltered Bathing Beach and the Oban waterfront are tested every summer. Ready for a southern swim?Coastal Beaches and BaysMorrisons Beach BluffSwimming, Water Quality and Getting ThereA small harbour beach in Bluff, tested weekly each summer, with a Good water quality grade, street parking and regular seal visitors.Rural and Surrounding AreasDacre nearSettlement Guide to Plains Farming LifeDiscover a quiet dairy-farming settlement on the Southland Plains, where State Highway 1 meets the road west to Makarewa.Rural and Surrounding AreasKapuka nearRural Area Guide to Farmland on the Scenic RouteExplore quiet farmland east of Invercargill, where the Southern Scenic Route runs through dairy country and an old railway line.Coastal and Bluff AreaOmauiSettlement Guide to Estuary Living and Coastal HistoryDiscover a quiet coastal settlement on the estuary, where bush walks, beach history and open strait light await.Rural and Surrounding AreasTussock Creek nearRural Area Guide to Plains Farming and a Community HallDiscover Tussock Creek near Invercargill, where plains farms, a community hall and a rare forest remnant shape a quiet rural district.Rural and Surrounding AreasKenningtonSettlement Guide to Highway Farms and Memorial GatesExplore a quiet farming settlement east of Invercargill, where highway traffic, the Waihopai River and old school gates shape daily life.Coastal and Bluff AreaSandy PointPeninsula of Beach, Bush and EstuaryExplore a sand and shingle peninsula west of Invercargill, where bush walks, estuary edges and open beach country sit side by side.Coastal and Bluff AreaAwaruaRural Area Guide to Wetlands and the Bluff RoadHead to the open plain between Invercargill and Bluff, where Awarua Bay wetlands and radio history sit under a wide coastal sky.