Te Anau - Invercargill via Manapoyri Lake Clufden,Turapere and Riverton

Fancy wild hare for supper? We had intended to dine at the Red Cliff yesterday evening. However, it was booked out so I can't enlighten you as to the merits or otherwise of wild hare!! 

We ate at the Olive Tree. It was an excellent meal with Salt and Pepper Calsmari to start followed by roast lamb with a delicious gravy for CC 

and NZ 's famous Blue Cod for me.

 With the exception of the mound of chips, so loved by the Kiwis, the food was excellent. A poor bottle of Merlot ( I'll stick to Pinot Noir in future) marred the meal somewhat but a coffee and s NZ port completed s satisfactory meal. 

This morning, we had a walk by the lake, which wax truly magnificent with the mountains of different hues protecting its far shore. 

Next stop Invercargill . We decided on the scenic route as the other would have us repeat part of the journey to Te Anau. Our first stop was Lake Mapouri, 

then to Clifden  where we saw the impressive suspension bridge over the river. 

 As we drove in, a fleet of very battered 4X4 drove in . Middle aged men on an off road trip. I would suspect they were Kiwis.   

From there, we drove to Tuatapere, 

where we found the abandoned railway station and then on to the coast, where at Mc Cracken's Point 

we encountered the coast. The wind was blowing - if my geography serves me correctly, the ferocity of the wind is attributable to the Roaring Forties   The view of the sea with its turbulent whit horses delighted but there were no surfers to be seen - maybe the wind and sea conditions combined did not entice. 

We continue along the coast to Riverton ,    

 an area frequented by whalers in the 1790s and John Howell, a whaler, set up the town in 1836 and is accredited with starting sheep farming in NZ!!

From Riverton, on a sea inlet, we moved inland again and reached Invercargill in the early afternoon The town was very quiet - in NZ shops do not normally open on Sundays. We eventually found the Victorian Railway hotel, where else but opposite the now defunct railway station , a new railway wax open for three years and then closed!! The vagaries of poor planning. 

We arrived at the Victorian Railway Hotel at 255 

. A note on the door informed us that check in was at 3pm. The hotel is registered as a NZ historic place , class 1 registered building.  It wax built in 1896 . The building was restored in 2004 but continues to exude Victorian charm. It is the oldest building on the area being used for its original purpose. 

We're off to see downtown Invercargill!! I'll report tomorrow. The wind is howling outside as I write - it could be winter!!