Invercargill: Not That Bad! (Apr. 11-12)

As described before, the deterioration of our sleeping conditions necessitated a quick departure from the Dolphin Lodge. Well, that and Becky was looking dangerously close to having an aneurysm over cleaning the hostel. When we wrote that we wouldn’t have minded more work, that was before we simultaneously started having more to do and our sleeping arrangements took a turn for the worse. Combine those factors with the fact that there wasn’t much to do in the area, that Becky had exhausted the supply of celebrity gossip magazines, and that I caught a bad cold, and you had a perfect storm for a wwoofing evacuation. So we up and left for Invercargill.

When we drove to Invercargill, we found out we were mistaken as to how out in the sticks we were at Porpoise Bay. Apparently it’s not nearly as remote when you approach it from Invercargill, less than an hour in fact. Just trying to do my best to keep the blog as accurate as possible these days… Oh well, it’s not like finding that out meant there was retroactively more to do in the area.

Depending on the literature you may read, Invercargill gets somewhat of a bad rap. Maybe it’s just that we were so glad to stores and other signs of civilization when we rolled into town, but we found Invercargill to be just fine. Perhaps trying a bit too hard to be regarded as a greater city than it is, but just fine all the same.

We were hoping to use Invercargill as a base to visit Stewart Island, the largely unpopulated and unspoiled island an hour south by ferry, but the weather wasn’t cooperating with our plans. The last few days have featured heaps of wind, grey skies, and intermittent rain, conditions which would be even more unpleasant on Stewart Island, especially when you consider the choppy hour-long ferry ride both ways. So it was an easy decision: spend upwards of NZ$350 to go to Stewart Island for the weekend in cold and crappy weather, or punt and drive north to Queenstown, closer to our next wwoofing spot?

The World's Fastest Indian museum exhibit. This is one of our contraband photos.

With a day or two to spend in Invercargill, we drove around and saw the sights. I’m not sure what it is about Invercargill, but the city sure seems keen on large structures: a war obelisk, a big water tower, a modern-art looking wall sculpture, a pyramid-shaped museum, and prominent churches are all found in this medium-sized town of about 50,000. It’s almost like they’re trying to provide photo opportunities and reasons for people to come visit, which is what seemed a bit forced about the town.

The fabulous Invercargill water tower

The museum in particular was funny. Why was it a pyramid constructed out of unattractive plastic-looking material? Who knows, there were no related exhibits or references inside. When the Louvre put in a pyramid, that was an interesting juxtaposition at least, but this just seemed like a misguided attempt to create a tourist-worthy destination.

The fabulously pyramidal shaped Invercargill Museum

Two of its more memorable exhibits, to us at least, were a room featuring a variety of bird eggs, and a collection of skeleton keys. We were a bit peeved to have to pay NZ$5 each to see the exhibit on Burt Munro, the Invercargill native of World’s Fastest Indian fame. And then they had the nerve to specify that no pictures be taken of the exhibit, it’s not like it was a sensitive work of art or something! See below for my thoughts on that restriction.

Becky has a need for speed, of the imaginary variety

In a development that will surely shock most Green With NZ readers, the top attraction on my list was the Invercargill Brewery, NZ’s southernmost (a popular local business advertising slogan) brewery. They make a nice stout, as well as a few other beers, and we had a nice tasting and tour with the owner on Thursday afternoon. I couldn’t really taste much with my cold, but all the beers seemed to be well-crafted, particularly the stout.

The fabulous Invercargill Brewery. We liked their test beer, the smoked manuka bock.

We also drove down to Bluff, just south of town, and where the ferries depart for Stewart Island. The guidebooks are even harsher on Bluff, saying “If you can’t make it back to Invercargill for the night, try harder.” Which I’d guess we’d agree with, as the town seems to consist largely of one extended industrial area, with a huge aluminum smelter looming across the waterway.

But we did have to visit Bluff, if for no other reason than getting our obligatory photos at the Stirling Point’s guidepost, marking the end of NZ’s main road, State Highway 1. From Cape Reinga to the Bluff, it is cool to realize we’ve made it the length of the country in the last 3 months, and to think about how far we’ve come since then, both literally as well as figuratively. We also intended to go to the famous Paua Shell House, where a couple had meticulously been attaching shiny paua shell pieces to just all the surfaces in the interior of their house over the last several decades. However, we were apparently a little too late, as the house was being advertised for sale by auction in a few weeks. I knew the couple was old, but hadn’t heard in the news that anything had happened to them. Unfortunately that probably marks the end of the Paua Shell House.

Bluff signpost, still sponsered by AA (the Automobile Association, not what you were thinking)

Well Invercargill, we’ve given you a fair shot and found you’re not so bad at all. You’ll never be an Auckland, or even a Dunedin, but that’s no reason to get down on yourself. There can never be too many nice, small cities with an active downtown and plenty of parks like you have. To quote Ben Stiller said in Starsky & Hutch, “Be yourself, that’s what’s cool.”

Sleeping In A Van On Porpoise (Bay) (Apr. 6 - 11)

After leaving Waikawa, we headed just down the road to Dolphin Lodge on Porpoise Bay to continue wwoofing for Nick there. With a mostly full house of backpackers, our accommodations weren’t quite as deluxe as our double room in Waikawa, as we were living in a van, down by the river mailbox! Though the weather has been cool in this area the past week, with 4 or 5 duvets we hardly noticed the chill in the van. To tell the truth, in some ways the van was a bit better than the dorms, as the van provided a reprieve from the snoring, creaking beds, and other assorted unpleasant noises (not to mention odors) that accompany dorm life. (Postscript: our last night in the van, however, was not good times, as Becky’s side of the van leaked and I couldn’t sleep as I had come down with a wicked cold – we decided to leave that morning.)

Becky is blown away by our sleeping accomodations

Wwoofing continued to be cruisey at Dolphin Lodge, with an hour or two of sweeping, mopping, and cleaning to do each day. To be honest, we wouldn’t have necessarily minded a bit more work most days, as there’s only so much to do in the area, especially when the weather is chilly and windy, as it often is. The Southland (region where the Catlins are located) plasters “Southland - Spirit of a Nation” on its signs, whatever that means, although “Southland – Gusty and Mostly Cloudy” would be more apt. This is one windswept little area, and when we’ve seen sun this week, we’ve learned to appreciate it, as it’s parceled out mighty stingily here at the bottom of NZ. Not that a little grey weather will stop you from surfing…

Purakaunui Falls in the Catlins

Far from it actually, as Nick says the worst weather often makes for the best surf. In that spirit, we took surfing lessons from Nick one day in what was probably about 55ºF temperatures. With full wetsuits, you hardly notice the cold though, so being in the ocean for a few hours isn’t bad at all. I really enjoyed the surfing, and we both got up on our boards the first day, catching some waves. I could see how people get a kick out of surfing in all types of weather, as it’s good fun to be the only guy out in the ocean on a freezing day, riding waves and enjoying the surf. Becky feels like it’s a pastime she should get behind, as it would finally justify her vocabulary (“I was like, dude, these waves were so sweet”).

Andrew posing with his extreme foam board

Perhaps the best part of surfing was that several Hector’s dolphins joined us while we took our lesson, swimming just meters from us, and playing around by riding the waves themselves! Porpoise Bay is said to be one of the only beach areas that Hectors come to without being fed by humans, so they’re like locals themselves. It certainly made us glad that we hadn’t paid to swim with dolphins earlier in Kaikoura, Akaroa, etc.

Catching a wave in Porpoise Bay

With little other to do in the area, we went to see the other typical NZ outdoor sights in the area: picturesque caves, beaches, and waterfalls. The Catlins has its own Cathedral Cave, although we’d have to say it’s inferior to the one in the Coromandel, especially since they charge admission here. Tip: don’t go on Easter Sunday as heaps of other people seem to have the same idea, making for a crowded hike. Parakaunui Falls and McLean Falls were worthwhile, however, and we enjoyed the short hikes to get there.

They have sheep in the Catlins!

So what else is there to do in Porpoise Bay? Answer: not much, and there’s a lot of it. To be sure, the Catlins is remote and languid, which I can get behind, in moderation. After a few days of hanging out at Porpoise Bay, though, we went a bit stir crazy. There are only so many penguins you can stake out, dolphins you can spy, and cups of tea you can drink before you bug out from the caffeine and need something else to do. Unfortunately, there isn’t that something more anywhere nearby.

They have blue skies in the Catlins, too! (on occasion)

I could see recommending 2-3 days in the area to see the sights and wildlife and to relax, but more than that takes either a heap of reading material or a staggering dedication to inactivity that we were unable to maintain. We didn’t think of ourselves as “high-energy people”, but after spending a week in the Catlins, I think we established what our minimum threshold of stimulation is. As you might have guessed, Porpoise Bay wasn’t exactly surpassing it.

Despite a bit of ennui and the bad cold I caught there, I think we’ll look back on our time in the Catlins pretty favorably. As the guidebooks will tell you, it’s certainly beautiful and unspoiled, and when the weather is good, the natural beauty really comes through. I’m glad we came here and took surfing lessons, and I’m looking forward to surfing some more when we drive north through the country in the spring. As for the cold, there’s more than a few probable culprits: surfing in really cold weather, cleaning rooms in a hostel, sleeping in a van for a week, just being exposed to heaps of germs in a hostel, who knows…

The sun sets over another lazy day in the Catlins

After wwoofing at several places now, I think we can safely say that the best stays are ones where you’re able to develop a strong rapport and hang out with the hosts. Although Nick and Tomo were certainly nice and friendly people, that didn’t happen for this visit, so we ended up trying to entertain ourselves, which was hit-or-miss. Also, coming from our last wwoofing experience where we were really active most of the time and got on so well with our hosts, this location couldn’t help but end up feeling a little anticlimactic. If we were really into surfing, this would be a tremendous spot, as we’d only have to do a few hours of work a day, then be free to surf and hang out the rest of the time, but oh well, it was pretty good. Next we head on toward the bright lights of big city Invercargill...

Nick and Tomo at the Dolphin Lodge