The Suthern Scenic route and Invercargill

Tuesday, Dec. 21.
Today is the travel day to Invercargill. We stop at the I-site in Balclutha and the lady says that we will not be able to visit the Cathedral Caves or the Petrified Forest as low tide was early this morning, but she highly recommends we take the Southern Route as it is so picturesque. Between rain squalls the first half of the trip, we do visit Purakaunui Falls - the most photographed falls on the South Island. They are pretty, but the ones in Glade are way more spectacular! Once we get to the western side of the route, the skies clear and the wind blows - fiercely. I get a picture of the N.Z. Niagara Falls, so named in jest by a Kiwi who had seen the Canadian ones. We stop at a lookout and lunch at a picnic bench with a view of a magnificent beach. We drive down to Curio Bay/Porpoise Bay and walk to the cliff in a howling-gale but don’t see any porpoise. Windblown and ready for a drink, we drive the rest of the way to Invercargill without stopping.
Our “room” has a sleeping loft and full kitchen facilities. We are ready for some home-cooked food so its of to Countdown for supplies. Chicken, mashed potatoes, caesar salad, coleslaw, and fresh beans - yummy. We’ll even have eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Wednesday, Dec. 22.
We awaken to pouring rain. I just want to go back to sleep, but I promised Peter eggs and bacon and he’s brought me coffee in bed. Up I get!
We make our usual stop at the I-site only to discover that the Museum, Art gallery, and the Tuatarium are all in this building and everything is free. We get a brochure for the Heritage Trail which is a self-guided walk around town to see the architecturally-important buildings.
We head into the Tuatarium. It is the area they have built, mostly glass, where the tuataras can breed. Old Henry is over a hundred years old and, once in captivity, was very ornery and only started breeding at 80 or 90. The tuatara are directly related to dinosaurs. When dinosaurs went extinct, these little guys just kept chugging along. They can hibernate in cold weather. Obviously, the ability to slow both their breathing and their heart beat has been a survival mechanism. We see a number of babies and older tuataras, but Henry is the star of the show; he just doesn’t do much but blink.
For a city of just over 50,000 people, the museum is first class. We spend the better part of two ours enjoying the displays.
Between rain showers, we do much of the Heritage Trail. At one point we think we are at Portage and Main, as the wind damn near blows us off our feet. Not to be detoured, we round the corner and it is better.
Tonight, we have home-made hamburgers with more coleslaw and fresh veggies. Peter has been working tirelessly making bookings for a cruise in Milford Sound, accommodations at Ayers Rock, and a flight to Alice Springs. Next month is going to be as much fun as the last three!
News flash! to most of you.
With some information we gathered from fellow travelers, we feel it is best to return in March, after Vietnam, and use a company that has been recommended to plan a fall trip to China. Then we discussed how cold it will be in Castlegar in mid-March and how unhappy one person will be to be cold (without curling), and Peter felt is would be a good idea for me to go from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo while he returns to Castlegar to do tax stuff and whatnot, and he will join me after the 1st of April. Audrey has kindly offered to share her “rental” accommodations with me. I’m booked. See any Mexico blog-followers in March, and homebodies in Castlegar in April.
The Purakaunui Falls.

A beach along the Southern Scenic Route.

Peter holding onto his hat at Porpoise Bay.

Niagara Falls, New Zealand.

Henry, the 100 year-old tuatara.

The Theatre in Invercargill.

Typical main street with awnings ao you can shop in the rain!