The next day trip I took was way down to the southernmost part of the South Island to Invercargill.
It was about a 2.5 hour drive from Queenstown to get there, and it went through a lot of farmland, which got progressively flatter the further south you went, and it started to remind me of the prairies back home. But, because it was farmland, there weren't as many places to stop and take pictures as there were on other trips. Maybe people think it isn't as interesting? I'm not sure....
This was before I left the mountainous area...
When I got to Invercargill, it was a little different from some of the other towns I'd been in so far. The roads were wider, there was more space overall, and most significant: it was dead. There were almost no people around whatsoever. I was there on a Saturday, but even in the "downtown" area there was almost no one. The only restaurant I could find open was a Starbucks. When I visited the information center, the girl didn't really have much to say. She told me the only place visitors usually go to in town is Queens Park (which is a giant garden). She also gave me a map of "The Catlins" which is apparently an area between Invercargill and Dunedin (on the east side of the island), where you can drive along the coast and stop at various points. Since this would have taken another 3 hours or so, even though it looked interesting, I wasn't really excited to get back in the car (it was a nice sunny day and it was about 28℃ as well).
Definitely some interesting buildings, but where are the people?!
So, instead of doing the drive, I went to Oreti Beach. Originally my plan had been to go to the beach, stay for a bit, and then go to to Bluff (which actually is as far south as you can go), as it was supposed to have a nice lookout. But....once I got to the beach, I knew I wasn't going to leave. It was really interesting, behind the beach were some sand dunes, and then there was a giant, very long expanse of beach. Cars were allowed to drive onto the beach, and of course, there were some people who took that to a ridiculous level, but most people just parked their vehicles and got out to walk, sit, or go in the water. I did all of that. The sand was really compact (which is probably why cars are allowed on it), and it was a really interesting color. It was almost black in places, but there were flecks of gold colored minerals included. It was quite pretty. The water was refreshing as well, some spots were warmer than others. After a bit of a walk, and a wade into the water, I pulled out my snacks and book and sat down to enjoy the sun for the next few hours. By the time I left it was well into the late afternoon (close to 6), and so I figured I should start back so I could gas up, and preferably not drive in the dark.
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