|
 Invercargill
(Waihōpai in Māori) (Pop 48,300) is the southernmost and westernmost
city in New Zealand. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region.
Invercargill
lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti
or New River some 18 km north of
Bluff, which is the
southernmost town in the
South Island.
Invercargill sits amid rich farmland that is bordered by large areas
of conservation land and marine reserves, including Fiordland National Park
covering the south-west corner of the South Island.
Built in the late 19th and early 20th
century, its wide streets and century old buildings give the visitor a
unique feeling of stepping back in time to when business was conducted in a
more sedate and considered manner and the streets were paved with Otago
gold.
Invercargill is located
221 kms southwest of Dunedin and is the gateway to Stewart Island and Fiordland National Park.
Mainly of scottish origin, Invercargill is a
service centre for the rich Southland farmlands. It is a commercial centre and
can be used as a base for exploring the other areas of Southland, Fiordland,
the Catlins Coast and Stewart Island.
The city of Invercargill offers
many opportunities, fine heritage buildings, excellent shopping facilities
and the warm southern hospitality of the locals.
Using Invercargill as your base, you can explore nearby Fiordland and
Queenstown (an easy two-hour drive), the Catlins Coast and Rakiura National
Park. It boasts an abundance of golf courses, parks, cafés, art galleries,
theatres, conference centres and excellent sporting facilities, including a
leisure centre and swimming and aquatic centre.
The city also offers visitors a variety of accommodation, restaurants and
shopping, plus good transport links to other main centres. Priority
attractions are the Southland Museum and Art Gallery where you can
experience the Roaring ’40s exhibition, and the largest public display of
tuatara (spiny-backed reptile native to New Zealand) in the world.
Invercargill
is served by various
coach/bus operators providing regular daily services from Christchurch, Dunedin and
Queenstown and regular air services by Air New Zealand Link from Christchurch, Wellington and
Auckland.
There are no passenger train services from Invercargill to Christchurch,
Dunedin, Queenstown, Mt Cook, Timaru and Oamaru. |