{"id":1817,"date":"2018-05-29T15:48:37","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T13:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/?p=1817"},"modified":"2018-08-10T09:29:35","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T07:29:35","slug":"southland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/gb\/southland\/","title":{"rendered":"Southland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V6I49g-WBmI\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<p>After spending the night on the calm <strong>shores<\/strong> of the beautiful <a href=\"http:\/\/www.doc.govt.nz\/parks-and-recreation\/places-to-go\/fiordland\/places\/fiordland-national-park\/places-to-go\/lake-monowai-borland-road-area\/\">Monowai<\/a> Lake, we leave the &gt;&gt; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/fiordland-national-park\/\">fiordland<\/a>\u00a0&lt;&lt; region in the pouring rain, heading for the southernmost of the southern island, the <strong>southland<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>McCracken\u2019s point<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Our first stop in this region will be under greyness sky of <a href=\"https:\/\/southlandnz.com\/western-southland\/activity\/mccrackens-rest\">McCracken&#8217;s<\/a> lookout where, after a few minutes of patience, we will see for the first time the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.doc.govt.nz\/nature\/native-animals\/marine-mammals\/dolphins\/hectors-dolphin\/\">Hector<\/a> <strong>dolphins<\/strong> one of the world&#8217;s smallest <strong>cetaceans<\/strong> and a new-zealand emblematic specie. The greyness of the day will not spoil it, this meeting will have <strong>delighted<\/strong> it.<br \/>\nWe will continue our journey to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernsouthland.co.nz\/pages\/viewentity.php?entity=198\">Monkey Island<\/a>, where we will fish <strong>blue mussels<\/strong> and try, without success, to have fish before spending the night at Colac bay in front of the sea.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1819\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mccrakens_southland.jpg\" alt=\"mccraken's_southland\" width=\"970\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mccrakens_southland.jpg 970w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mccrakens_southland-300x104.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Mccrakens_southland-768x266.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Invercargill<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Here we are in the Southland region most <strong>importan<\/strong>t <a href=\"https:\/\/southlandnz.com\/discover\/invercargill\">city<\/a>, but certainly not the one where we have been the most welcome. We quickly realized that speaking French on the street or in the shops costed us small look and not very kind <strong>comments<\/strong>. However, far from disconcerting, we chose to <strong>enjoy<\/strong> our visit as it should.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h5><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">World fastest museum<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-1821 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Burt_southland-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Burt_southland\" width=\"264\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Burt_southland-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Burt_southland.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>It was in New Zealand that we had the <strong>pleasure<\/strong> of discovering the history of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Burt_Munro\">Burt Munro<\/a> thanks to the movie &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_World%27s_Fastest_Indian\">The world&#8217;s fastest Indian<\/a>&#8220;. Originally from the city of Invercargill, this man managed, against all odds, to reach a <strong>spectacular<\/strong> speed <strong>record<\/strong> thanks to his bike, an old Indian, which he had well modify. So naturally we wanted to discover the machine in question, <strong>proudly<\/strong> exhibited in a store \/ museum with other <strong>collector<\/strong> vehicles.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Queenspark<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-1822\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/queenspark_southland-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"queenspark_southland\" width=\"219\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/queenspark_southland-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/queenspark_southland.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 219px) 100vw, 219px\" \/>During our visit of the city we also went to <strong>walk<\/strong> in its imposing <a href=\"https:\/\/icc.govt.nz\/parks-and-reserves\/queens-park\/\">park<\/a> of a great diversity and full of <strong>charms<\/strong>. Between the pretty rose garden, the animal sanctuary, the Japanese garden, the mini-golf and the caf\u00e9, there is something here to spend a <strong>pleasant<\/strong> moment of relaxation or activity. Also at the entrance is a commemorative bronze statue of Mr. Munro.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h5><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Southland museum &amp; art gallery<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Right next to the park, it&#8217;s possible to <strong>visit<\/strong> the region <a href=\"https:\/\/southlandmuseum.co.nz\/\">museum <\/a>for free and discovering <strong>cultural<\/strong>, institutional, historical and even natural, thanks to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.doc.govt.nz\/nature\/native-animals\/reptiles-and-frogs\/tuatara\/\">Tuatara<\/a> observation. Emblematic New Zealand lizards, this specie has almost been extinct and it stays only a few <strong>specimens<\/strong> in the wild.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Bluff<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1845\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/bluffpoint_southland.jpg\" alt=\"bluffpoint_southland\" width=\"222\" height=\"248\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There is no big <strong>interest<\/strong> in pushing further south to the small town of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluff.co.nz\/\">Bluff<\/a>, except to take a picture at &#8220;<strong>Stirling Point<\/strong>&#8221; with its directional signs pointing to international cities.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Disabuse you, Stirling Point is <strong>not<\/strong> the southernmost point of the South Island, this place comes back to Slope point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It&#8217;s also possible to climb the Bluff hill viewpoint to observe the surrounding area and look out over the clear horizon to <strong>Stewart Island<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1829 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whaipapa_southland-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"Whaipapa_southland\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whaipapa_southland-240x300.jpg 240w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Whaipapa_southland.jpg 468w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>Waipapa lighthouse<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>We finally leave Invercargill surroundings to head towards the <strong>Catlins<\/strong> National Park. On the road along the coast, we will make a first stop at the beautiful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maritimenz.govt.nz\/public\/history\/lighthouses\/Waipapa-Point\/\">Waipapa<\/a> <strong>lighthouse<\/strong>, it&#8217;s here that we will make our first meeting with the imposing <strong>sea lions<\/strong>. We will cross there only two specimens which will quickly point their noses out of the water and that was already a good glimpse of their <strong>stature<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h4><strong><span style=\"color: #993300;\">Slope point \u2013 Southest point<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>It was after a few minutes of walking from the parking area that we reached\u00a0 the <strong>southernmost<\/strong> point of the South Island, better known as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Slope_Point\">Slope point<\/a>. A small piece of land lost between <strong>pastures<\/strong> covered with sheep and ending by a <strong>vertiginous<\/strong> cliff above the sea.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1847\" src=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/slopePT_southland-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"slopePT_southland\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/slopePT_southland-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/slopePT_southland-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/slopePT_southland.jpg 468w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>Nothing exceptional, but it&#8217;s simply <strong>pleasant<\/strong> to think\u00a0 &#8220;I went there&#8221;.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This is our brief overview about this part of Southland, a pleasant visit for which we didn&#8217;t have a big <strong>crush<\/strong>, perhaps because of a lack of deepening. The coastal road remains pleasant, although sometimes chaotic, since it&#8217;s mostly gravel roads, and opens perfectly the door to the Catlins National Park.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After spending the night on the calm shores of the beautiful Monowai Lake, we leave the &gt;&gt; fiordland\u00a0&lt;&lt; region in the pouring rain, heading for the southernmost of the southern island, the southland. McCracken\u2019s point Our first stop in this region will be under greyness sky of McCracken&#8217;s lookout where, after a few minutes of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.1","language":"gb","enabled_languages":["fr","gb"],"languages":{"fr":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"gb":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>On the Southland coastal road - NZ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After our Fiordland national park discovery, it&#039;s now time to continue our visit of the southland area by the coastal road and its towns.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lecoeurelephant.com\/gb\/southland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the Southland coastal road - 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