The drive to Invercargill was scenic but long, taking about 7 hours. We could have taken the highway which would have been quicker but instead decided to take the scenic Coastal road which took us through the Caitlin's forest and national park. It had started out as a rainy morning but, by the time we got to the Caitlin's the weather was improving, though it was cold. We stopped at McLean falls for a walk to the waterfalls. The walk took us through the forest and the falls were very impressive due to all the rain we had the previous night and that morning.

We arrived in Invercargill about 6.30. We had booked into a caravan park earlier that day so we didn't have to worry about finding a space. However, it was quite a way out of town. Luckily the woman in reception informed us of a restaurant close to the beach which offers free pick ups and returns so we decided to give that a go. It had quite possibly the biggest menu I have ever seen and there were about 6 vegetarian options, the most variety I have seen for a while!

This as about all we had time for in Invercargill. The following morning we drove into town but it struck us as nothing special so we pressed on towards Queenstown which is a place everybody raves about.

We arrived in Queenstown around 3pm and what a great drive it was once we got within an hour or so of the place. Lots of rugged mountain scenery, lakes, sheep in their millions....

That evening we decided to take a ride on the Gondola to view Queenstown and it's surrounds. Great view as will be see from the pictures,though slightly spoilt by a rowdy group of boys, one of whom was wearing just his boxer shorts and a fairy costume!