Day 11 Queenstown to Invercargill

Well our plans of going to Te Anau have had to be canned due to the weather, a cold front is coming in from the South West and rain is on the way. So we have decided to head for Invercargill, stopping on the way at Kingston to see the steam train the "Kingston Flyer". Photo's are of Queenstown from the backpackers garden, and Paul having his morning coffee.

We left the hustle and bustle of Queenstown at just after 9am hoping to get to Kingston by 10am, when the flyer left. It was a race against the clock and we made it with 5 mins, we managed to get a video of it huffing and puffing and letting off steam. As Paul said it was like a living thing, taking off down the track.

The rest of the trip to Invercargill was pretty uneventful, apart from watching the approaching rain clouds and hoping we wouldn't get too wet. We passed through Winton, the place where my Great- Grandad was born, and arrived in Invercargill just as it started to spit. Our Backpackers was a lovely old villa, not far from the Invercargill Museum and city centre. So we had lunch and headed off to explore in the rain. We found the museum was really good, with a great movie showing about Burt Munroe "The world's fastest Indian" fame. See below for photo's of his bike.

We then went on a walk around the city centre and had a beer/cider at "Waxy O'Sheas" Irish pub. After tea we went to try and find Paul's old house that he lived in with his parents when he was a wee nipper. We found the street but not the house, was supposed to be 44 Lithgow st, but there was no 44 or 46, very odd.

I really liked Invercargill, it as broad straight streets, and lovely old houses,reminds a bit of old Australian towns.