20 hours in Invercargill

The wind buffets our loft overnight and is even noisier than the squeaky bed. I have to get up at 1:30am to close windows. When we get up in the morning, the sky is threatening and unleashes the odd gusty shower. 

After breakfast we load up the car and leave Dunedin behind. It is a 2.5 hour drive to Invercargill and the idea is for Ross to drive until we stop for coffee when I can take over... but as the green hills dotted with sheep and cows continue to roll on by, we zip through a number of small dots on the map with a decided lack of suitable caffeine offerings. It is only once we reach the 'presidential' stretch of highway, having passed through Clinton, and finally arrived at Gore, that there is a suitably large main street with a choice of cafes. Caffeinated at last(!), Ross decides to plug on with the rest of the drive as we are nearly at Invercargill anyway.

Bleak skies and green landscapes along the road to Invercargill 

We head straight to Villa Rouge B+B to check-in and drop off our bags and we're met at the door by our host, Diana. She surprises me with a warm hug, offered in sympathy for our Australian compatriots killed in the recent White Island disaster. Diana is warm and earthy but has a commanding presence that belies her small stature, and she swiftly determines how much time we have in Invercargill and what we really need to see. She shows us around the house, books us a table at a nearby restaurant for dinner in the evening, and takes our breakfast orders for the next day. With that thunderclap of impressive efficiency, she leaves us to settle into our beautiful room. The house is decorated in a French provincial style - all bold colours, rich fabrics and plush furnishings. There are thoughtful touches everywhere and it feels homely. Christmas makes its presence felt in the little decorations in our room, even down to the shortbread and chocolate truffles left for us by the kettle.

Our comfortable room - with a quiet non-squeaky bed! - and the vintage bathroom (below)
including the toilet with old-fashioned pull chain flush

                   

The guest lounge with movie projector and DVDs, which was available for our use
but sadly we didn't avail ourselves of because there wasn't time

We don't stop for long as Ross is on a mission! We head straight out to Bill Richardson Transport World, an extraordinary automotive museum that has been assembled over a lifetime by one individual. It is an amazing collection of beautifully restored vehicles and other quirks including petrol pumps, themed bathrooms and a cafe. Ross is happy to browse the huge space but is disappointed that there are plenty of trucks and heavy vehicles but only a few cars. Motorcyles are kept offsite at another location but there is not enough time today to visit Motorcycle Mecca as well. Ah well, next time we're in Invercargill perhaps?!

The main floor (in one of 6 interconnected warehouses) pretty much houses the car collection

Browsing some of the restored trucks

A small sample of the extensive petrol pump collection that is on display

It is pouring with rain by the time we finish strolling around so we sit down in the cafe to wait out the heavy showers. The rain doesn't seem to be stopping but at least it slows to a consistent drizzle so we run to the car and make the short drive to the centre of Invercargill. The main drag does not look particularly exciting - it is all low-rise buildings and a bit Bunbury-ish, so we continue onto Queens Park. The park is classed as a Garden of National Significance and sprawls over 80 hectares in the centre of Invercargill. As well as playgrounds, a golf course and tennis courts, it boasts lots of different garden zones and kilometres of walking trails.

We park the car at one corner of Queens Park and don our raincoats so we can go for a walk. The benefit of the gloomy afternoon is that it seems we have the park mostly to ourselves. Our strolls take us past the Japanese Garden, rose garden, and another aviary, this one large enough to have a walk-through section which is convenient shelter when another heavy downpour comes. 

Japanese garden

Queens Park loveliness

The walk-through aviary

More exquisite flowers - of course!

We stop in the winter garden - a warm and humid glasshouse growing tropical species - and find the perfect water lily pond to remember a special Invercargill native who touched our lives and passed away only a few months ago.

Remembering our friend, Margot

From there, we venture into the "stumpery" as we are quite stumped as to what a stumpery might be. It is a collection of strange sculptures assembled from old tree stumps, all sharp, twisted, jagged edges and unfriendly. The forested paths are much more pleasant and we pass the landmark bandstand. From here Ross marches on to where he thinks the car is parked... only we pop out at the far northeastern corner of the park... when we have parked at the southwest entrance. So it means walking the full length of the park again, which adds another couple of kilometres. It is with some relief that we find our car, having done much more walking than we intended! 

Forested paths

The bandstand...which we pass 1, 2, 3 times on the quest to find our car...

And of course, just as we arrive back at our B+B to freshen up before dinner... the sun comes out. Agh! We are very tired but fortunately our restaurant is only a 5 minute drive away. Buster Crabb is an odd name but it commemorates the British spy who was the inspiration for James Bond. Just as intriguing is our missing booking. When we arrive the staff tell us that the restaurant is full tonight and despite our protestations to the contrary, they insist that they did not get a call from Diana. But after a couple of phone calls it becomes clear that the booking mistakenly went through to a sister restaurant quite some distance away. Our quiet desperation must sway them because the staff kindly fit us in. The restaurant and bar are buzzing. It's Friday night and there are large groups for graduations and Christmas parties. The service is seamless and the food is lovely. I have a whitebait omelette with its thousands of little eyes, and happiness for Ross is a local beer and a warming plate of NZ Blue Cod.

Blue cod at Buster Crabb