Billy Connolly Drives New Zealand

Day 13: Stewart Island to Te Anau

On this page: Travel time:   Km/Miles Stewart Island - Invercargill 1 hr  72/45 Invercargill - Te Anau 2 hrs  157/98   Totals for Day 3 hrs  229/143

Stewart Island - Invercargill - Te Anau

Much of Stewart Island (in Maori, Rakiura) was recently declared New Zealand’s newest national park. Visitors come to the island to enjoy nature at its wildest. Highlights include spotting kiwis on Ocean Beach, walking amidst the birds on Ulva Island and hiking the tracks through the park. Oban, the only major town, offers a variety of accommodation from hotel rooms to lodge retreats. For a potted history of Stewart Island, visit the local museum.

Air and ferry services bridge the gap across Foveaux Strait. The flight to Invercargill airport takes only 20 minutes. The ferry trip, which at times can be rough, takes about an hour.

Invercargill is Southland's principal centre and the country's southernmost city. It is known for its elegant old department stores and wide, easy-to-navigate streets. Local food specialties include Bluff Oysters and blue cod. The museum has a tuatara house and an excellent exhibition about New Zealand’s subantarctic islands. Take a stroll around the gardens, aviary and duck ponds of Queens Park.

Scenic Highlights

Curio Bay and Slope Point
There are many things to capture your imagination at Curio Bay, including dolphins, penguins and fossilised trees.

Catlins River Walk, Purakaunui Falls and Jack's Blowhole
Combine the Catlins River Walk with visits to Purakaunui Falls and Jack's Blow Hole - it'll be an amazing day.

Stewart Island and Rakiura National Park
Stewart island lies only 30 kilometres off the bottom of the South Island, but it's a world of its own.

Queens Park
Queens Park is Invercargill's pride and joy - a paradise of cool climate gardens and walkways.

Ulva Island / Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve
Prehistoric filter feeding shellfish called brachiopods thrive in Paterson Inlet. They are living fossils from the Palaeozioc period.

Rakiura Track
Hike around New Zealand's newest national park on Stewart Island. Native birds, pristine beaches and unbroken forest cover make this circuit walk a magnificent experience.

Oreti Beach and Sandy Point
Oreti Beach was Burt Munro's race track - a 26 kilometre stretch of perfectly smooth sand.

Activities

Southland
Boat Cruises (1), Walking/Trekking (9)

Tour and Sightseeing

Southland
Walking/Trekking (2)

Stewart Island - Invercargill - Te Anau

Invercargill is Southland's principal centre and the country's southernmost city. It is known for its elegant old department stores and wide, easy-to-navigate streets. Local food specialties include Bluff Oysters and blue cod.

Choose between two routes to reach Te Anau. The longer, wilder route takes you past Riverton, one of the oldest settlements in New Zealand, and then on to Tuatapere and Clifden, where you can investigate caves and discover the historic suspension bridge. Visit spectacular Lake Manapouri before you arrive in Te Anau.

The quicker route takes you north across farmland to Lumsden and then west through the township of Mossburn to Te Anau. At the Hokonui Moonshine Museum you can learn about the region’s illicit whisky-making past. Then you’ll travel across the river plain to Lumsden. Stop in Mandeville if you’d like to fly in a Tiger Moth.

Te Anau township sits on the shores of Lake Te Anau. From here, the delights of the Fiordland National Park are within easy reach, including the start of the world famous Milford Track. Cruise on the lakes, walk the tracks and explore the Te Ana-au Caves.

Scenic Highlights

Routeburn Track
In pre-European times, Maori frequently used this route during journeys to collect pounamu (jade) from west coast rivers.

Curio Bay and Slope Point
There are many things to capture your imagination at Curio Bay, including dolphins, penguins and fossilised trees.

Fiordland's Marine Reserves
In parts of Fiordland National Park, natural environments are protected from the peaks of mountains to the depths of the fiords.

Lake Te Anau
An early European explorer described Fiordland as ""utterly useless except for mountaineers"", and that's why it's still so pristine.

Catlins River Walk, Purakaunui Falls and Jack's Blowhole
Combine the Catlins River Walk with visits to Purakaunui Falls and Jack's Blow Hole - it'll be an amazing day.

Queens Park
Queens Park is Invercargill's pride and joy - a paradise of cool climate gardens and walkways.

Oreti Beach and Sandy Point
Oreti Beach was Burt Munro's race track - a 26 kilometre stretch of perfectly smooth sand.

Activities

Fiordland
Boat Cruises (14), Diving (1), Fishing – Fresh Water (3), Hunting (1), Kayaking – Salt Water (1), Scenic Flights (1), Walking/Trekking (10)

Southland
Boat Cruises (1)

Tour and Sightseeing

Fiordland
Boat Cruises (7), Diving (1)