Southland is a recently-discovered jewel in the New Zealand tourism crown, home to not one, but two national parks. In 2002, 864,000 people visited the province. By 2009, pundits predict it will be the place for the interactive traveler.
Fiordland National Park covers a staggering 1,257,000 hectares and, with World Heritage status, is billed as the walking capital of the world. It is supported by the 157-hectare Rakiura National Park, which comprises 85 per cent of Stewart Island and Tuatapere’s newly-opened Hump Ridge Track. This attraction takes in the world’s largest wooden viaduct, fully restored by local engineers as a millennium project.
The Mataura River, near Gore, is known as the brown trout fishing capital of New Zealand, but there’s culture here too. In the temperance days of the early twentieth century, the Hokonui Hills, above Gore, were best known as the brewery for bootleg whisky - a heritage preserved in the Hokonui Moonshine Museum (reputed to be a lot smoother than the original). Also in Gore is the Eastern Southland Art Gallery, home to the John Money Collection, which the New Zealand-born sexologist recently donated to the gallery.
On the Catlins Coast, view breathtaking forest and beaches with yellow-eyed and little blue penguins, New Zealand fur seals and sea lions, and the tiny Hector’s dolphin. The experience is capped by a 160-million-year-old Jurassic Forest, one of only three accessible sites in the world.
Invercargill is the closest city to Queenstown – a vibrant tourist destination, complete with casinos and shops in an idyllic alpine lake setting. Queenstown is the springboard for bungy jumping, heli-skiing, white water rafting, jet boating, paragliding and much, much more.
