Day 13: Invercargill / The Caitlins
Rain. Rain. Rain. We woke up to rain, and are going to sleep to rain. But we have no time for lazy days! We had picked an RV park in the City Center of Invercargill the night before, so we were really close to the main attraction for the morning: a stop at the E Hayes Hardware Store! No, really.mo The owner of the hardware store is a motor-enthusiast and has a collection of vintage cars and motorcycles display throughout his store – including the World’s Fastest Indian. After watching the Anthony Hopkins bio-flick on Burt Munroe, Lindsay had to stop in to see the recording-holding motorcycle in person.
The World’s Fastest Indian
Old-timey cars &car parts on display throughout the hardware store
Very first car owned by the Hayes Family – multi-generation owned store in Invercargill where the love of cars is still strong
We took a quick stroll through Queens Parks before driving out on the Southern Scenic Way toward The Caitlins Forest.
Enjoying the Rose Garden in Invercargill
Lovely trees in Invercargill, for all our arborist friends!
There was even a small zoo full of New Zealand’s farm animals, including a very majestic Red Deer
Despite the rainy weather, the landscape in the Caitlins National Forest was breathtakingly dramatic.
The wildlife telling Igor to watch his speed!
Is that rock? Nope – it’s a fossilized tree from a flood, 170 million years ago! Once New Zealand was covered in forest, now it is full of grassy pastures for millions of sheep
A little detour to the McLean Falls to stretch our legs
It was getting dark as we were leaving the Caitlins, so we picked an RV park nearby so we could return in the morning for some sunrise shots of the Nugget Point Lighthouse, weather permitting. On the way out, we passed through a small town called Owaka, which had a lot of New Zealand charm.
We nearly caused an accident when we swerved off the road when we saw this sign for Teapotland!
Delightfully quirky – someone in Owaka filled their front yard with hundreds of teapots!
A roadside farm stand in Owaka, where customers pay via “Honesty Box”! Delicious fresh tomatoes!
Rainy sunset – we are the only tourists visiting Nugget Point.