This morning we awoke to rain pelting down on the roof of the van. This was predicted so we were not too surprised. Apparently a good day in Milford Sound is any day that it does not rain. Sunny weather is rare but on those few days this place would be unbelievably beautiful. Oh well, not for us.When we woke we noticed that the netting we had around the bed had saved us from an infestation of sand flies. We could not believe how many were around inside the van. (I spent lots of time as we drove swatting at those who had the death wish and came into striking range.) When we stepped outside the van we were standing amoung ‘clouds’ of these pests. I am glad we had decided not to stay for the day since it would require dosing ourselves in ‘Off’ just to stay sane.
After breakfast we headed down the road which means we retraced our steps of yesterday. We are heading now to the south coast and start the process of moving northward again. Again I marvelled at the road up to and through Homer Tunnel. Again Gertrude Valley was covered in clouds and rain.
As we started down the east side of Homer Pass we noticed that the clouds were starting to break up a bit. Then we remembered that the weather was coming from the West and that as we travelled East we were moving ahead of the weather pattern. This was ok since we decided to stop at Mirror Lake to take few pictures. It was not a calm day, but the reflections were really good.
We continued on to Invercargill which is a larger sized town where we will stay the night. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It 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. It 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.
After we settled at the campsite we still had lots of daylight left and the sky still had broken clouds so we decided to head off to the town of Bluff which also the ferry station for those going to Stewart Island. Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country (particularly in such phrases as "from Cape Reinga to The Bluff"). According to the 2006 census, the usually resident population was 1,850, a decrease of 85 since 2001.
The Bluff area, while itself not settled by Māori, was one of the earliest areas of New Zealand where a European presence became established. The first ship known to have entered the harbour was the Perseverance in 1813, in search of flax trading possibilities, with the first European settlers arriving in 1823/1824. This is the foundation for the claim that this makes Bluff the oldest permanent European settlement in the country. However the missionary settlement at Kerikeri was both earlier and larger and the town is now larger than that of Bluff. The town was officially called Campbelltown in 1856, became a borough in 1878, and was renamed Bluff in 1917.
We headed up to the viewpoint at Bluff which gave us great views of Stewart Island and other islands in the ocean. The ocean we are looking at is the South Pacific Ocean.
We then headed back into Bluff and followed Highway one to the end where it stops at Stirling Point. Highway 1 goes from this farthest southern point of the South Island all the way to the northern part of the North Island with only a small ferry in the middle connecting. We returned to town and stopped at a used book store to trade books.
Tonight the weather has caught up to us as we sit and watch the rain pelting down again. It will stop soon I am sure and tomorrow in this area it is forecast to clear up and become sunny again. Here is hoping.
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