Next stop Bluff south of Invercargill

The drive out of Queenstown was spectacular. The road took us to the other side of the lake between two mountains. Yet again it was so hard not to take photos. The trip to Bluff our next destination was via Invercargill. This was a three and a half hour drive. Once we were through the mountains the scenery was very much open farmland like so much of New Zealand. Lots of sheep of course. Not a lot of traffic which was good so we made good progress.

We arrived in Invercargill and found a very large budget supermarket to buy a few provisions and lunch. Invercargill is clearly not a tourist destination, but it appears to be quite prosperous. The buildings are original making for a pretty town center. The hotel where we are staying is outside of the township of Bluff another 20 minutes away. Spectacular scenery on the road since we are now again on the coast.

Our hotel is described as boutique, this really means small. Just five rooms. Beautifully situated overlooking the cliffs and ocean. The room is very small and they have managed to squeeze a bathroom into a space. No more than a meter wide and maybe 4 m long. It is however, very comfortable. The only downside is that the owners are Chinese having taken over 2 years ago and they have very little English, thank god for Google translate. They did not understand my need for non -feather bedding but we sorted that out with Google translate.

We are here for four nights and the hotel provides breakfast. Unfortunately that is the only meal they provide. Next door however is a small cafe which providing you order before 6:30 you can get dinner except on a Monday night. Our meal was excellent and I continue my exploratory journey of Central Otago Pinots. The first one I tried cost $20 and was very nice, the second glass cost $15 and was just ok, the third glass cost $13 and was very nice.Read more