Invercargill, New Zealand

When we booked our trip to New Zealand we knew we wanted to see the whole country – from top to bottom. We had driven from Auckland in the North Island all the way down to Milford Sound (click here to read about that adventure) in the southern part of the South Island. We just had to drive the last couple of hours to the southernmost city of Invercargill. We booked a hotel and loaded up the car for our next adventure.

Once we arrived in Invercargill we quickly learned a couple of important things – 1) the southernmost point, Stirling Point, is actually in the nearby town of Bluff (oops), and, 2) we had arrived during Burt Munro Challenge Days, so the whole city was overflowing with motorcycle riders who were there to celebrate their local hero (more about him in a bit).

First things first – driving down to Invercargill on a rainy morning we stopped at a little coffee shop along the way. As we walked in we saw the ‘Muddy Boots?’ sign on the window and thought that was the name of the place. It turned out to be the window for people to order coffee when they are wearing boots that are muddy – so they don’t track their mess inside.

We only realized this when we saw a man run up to the door, and, in an amazing feat of acrobatics, literally jump out of his dirty boots and walk in wearing his socks. He came in to pick up his coffee and say hello to his friends. It was so unexpected and polite that it made us smile. Joel stepped out and took this picture of his boots waiting by the front door. Kiwis are so nice!

Once we arrived in Invercargill and checked into our hotel, we drove down to Stirling Point in Bluff. Bluff is a small town about 25 km (15.5 miles) further south of Invercargill, about 25 minutes away.

If you plan to drive here, be aware that there is very little parking available (I cropped a picture of the parking lot from Google Maps). But don’t let that stop you from coming out – the views are amazing on a clear day.

After taking pictures at Stirling Point, we drove back into Bluff to get some lunch. The streets were unusually crowded with motorcycles (because of Burt Munro), but we managed to find a spot to park and a restaurant with an open table.

While in the restaurant we struck up a conversation with a nice couple from Invercargill, Mory and Jeanie, who were talking about their upcoming trip to New York City and Philadelphia. They were very nice, and, unexpectedly, they invited us over to their house for dinner the next night (did we go? keep reading to find out).

After lunch we encountered another DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoint.

And Joel took his second (both in life, and in New Zealand) breathalizer test. In case you are wondering, yes, he passed. And the officer was super friendly and happy to have his picture taken (I asked first).

Now, let me tell you about Invercargill’s hometown hero, Burt Munro.

“Herbert James “Burt” Munro (Bert in his youth; 25 March 1899 – 6 January 1978) was a motorcycle racer from New Zealand, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, on 26 August 1967. This record still stands; Munro was 68 and was riding a 47-year-old machine when he set his last record.” – Wikipedia

“Working from his home in Invercargill, he spent 20 years highly modifying his 1920 Indian motorcycle that he had bought that same year. Munro set his first New Zealand speed record in 1938 and later set seven more. He travelled to compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats, attempting to set world speed records. During his ten visits to the salt flats, he set three speed records, one of which still stands.” – Wikipedia

“The World’s Fastest Indian is a 2005 New Zealand biographical sports drama film based on the story of New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro and his highly modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle…The film stars Anthony Hopkins, and was produced, written, and directed by Roger Donaldson.” – Wikipedia

We saw this movie with our Kiwi friends years ago and really enjoyed it. I was surprised to learn Donaldson directed quite a few other movies I’ve seen and liked (click on his name above to read more about him and his movies).

“Inspired by the 2005 film, the Invercargill Motorcycle Club has held a “Burt Munro Challenge” motorcycle competition annually since 2006 (except 2007, 2017 and 2022)…it has grown into a major motorcycle event in New Zealand, drawing thousands of riders and spectators.” – Wikipedia

A collection of movie memorabilia and Burt Munro’s motorbikes is found inside the E Hayes and Sons Hardware Store. It is a regular hardware store that has motorbikes, vehicles and movie memorabilia displayed around their shop – they call it the E. Hayes Motorworks Collection. Entrance is free during their normal store hours. I’ve included a link to their store so you can see more of the collection than I have posted here. They also have a virtual tour of their store, which is quite large.

It was both interesting and strange to have “museum” pieces sitting next to hardware store items for sale. Check out the backgrounds of some of these pictures I took –

After exploring the hardware store/museum, we took a walk around the center of town. Fun fact, many of the streets around Invercargill are named after rivers in Scotland.

This is a very walkable city and it was nice to be out of the car for the day. Here are some of the highlights from our day.

Queens Park is a very large park, 200 acres (0.81 km²), just north of the city center.

“The park is home to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, which is currently being demolished and rebuilt (expected to reopen in 2027), the Southland Astronomical Society Observatory, and an animal reserve, which features animals such as wallabies, alpacas, ostrichs, rabbits and guinea pigs, an aviary, as well as tuataras (including the oldest known living tuatara Henry, hatched some time between the 1890s and the 1910s!). The park is also home to an 18-hole golf course, a botanical garden, and sports grounds.” – Wikipedia

We didn’t realize how large the Queens Park is and hadn’t planned enough time to explore. Sigh, guess we’ll just have to come back. (hehe)

“The memorial took the form of a cenotaph similar to the one constructed in London, this design takes its name from the Greek words kenos, meaning empty, and taphos, meaning tomb.

With so many New Zealanders buried in other countries it provided a place for families and loved ones to grieve and pay their respects.” – Invercargill City Council

“Alexander Mair, a draper, purchased this Don Street site in 1873 and lived there in the latter part of the 1800s, His two storey dwelling can be seen in this photo.

Don Street was a muddy bog when it rained and dusty when it was dry. Sloans Theatre on Dee Street can be seen in the background to the right, with the Southland Club to the south of it.” – Invercargill City Council

“Grand Hotel (Former) is a prominent building on Dee Street, Invercargill’s main road, and was constructed in 1912-1913 ” – Heritage New Zealand

“IT Thomson laid out the town of Invercargall in 1856, a mile square…By December 1856 the town had 14 houses two hotels and three stores…Invercargill’s streets were built to be wide enough to tum a bullock cart.

Now, about that nice Kiwi couple who invited us to dinner. Funny story, Jeanie and I knew instantly that we could be friends, so when she invited us to dinner I quickly accepted. Afterwards, Joel said, we don’t know these people, we just met them, and we’re going to their house?!? What if they are serial killers??? But I had connected with Jeanie and talked Joel into going. Spoiler Alert – We had a great time! Jeanie invited her neighbor Sue over. And Sue brought her daughter Lily.

At the end of the night, just as we were leaving, Joel felt comfortable enough with Mory to joke with him about his thought that they could be serial killers. Mory laughed and told us he thought the same thing! He said he questioned Jeanie after she invited us and had the same worries about strange Americans. Their kids even told Jeanie – You can’t just invite strange Americans over for dinner! What if they are murderers?!? Mory, Jeanie – Thank you for the lovely dinner, great conversation, and for not killing us.

Before we left town we made one final stop out to a famous beach.

“Ten kilometres (about 6 miles) west of Invercargill, Oreti Beach was a key location for the film ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’, which tells the story of Southland’s motorcycling hero Burt Munro. At around 26 kilometres (16 miles) in length, the beach provided Munro with a testing and racing site for his modified Indian motorcycle. In February 1957 Munro set a New Zealand Open Beach record of 131.38 mph at Oreti Beach; in 1975 he raised this to 136 mph.” – 100% Pure New Zealand

Today the speed limit is 30 km per hour, so no attempts at speed records for us. But the beach is wide and flat, and we can see why Munro chose it to practice and race.