NZ South Island is quirky and cute
There is much more to the South Island than glaciers, fjords and snow-capped mountains.
The South Island of New Zealand is famous for its natural splendours: snow-capped alps, glaciers, glow worm caves, alpine parrots, lakes, fjords and waterfalls. But there is much more. Visitors will be delighted by eccentric attractions sprinkled alongside the scenic beauty. At the Otari Stagecoach Hotel, a giant Gollum squats on the roof, watching with horror as his precious ring drops from spatulate fingers. Hokitika claims to have the world’s leading sock shop and has a mini-museum exhibiting old-fashioned sock-knitting machinery.
The grandest of South Island’s quirky places is Puzzling World at Wanaka. After being disoriented by distorted rooms and baffled by optical illusions, the three-dimensional maze awaits. Twenty years ago, on a previous visit, I had to use an emergency gate for the hopelessly lost. This time we find our way to the four corner towers and back to the proper exit. We refresh ourselves in the cafe, where tables are supplied with puzzles and staff assist bewildered patrons. Dunedin’s Baldwin Street, recently deposed as the steepest in the world (Guinness World Records now gives the title to Ffordd Pen Llech in Wales), continues to attract visitors who huff and puff up a gradient that is 1:2.86 at its most severe, similar to the sloping floors of Puzzling World. Tourists pursuing extremes stop at Slope Point and take the grassy walk to the southernmost tip of the mainland. Moving on, be sure to pause at the Lost Gypsy Gallery in Papatowai. It’s a converted old house-bus of curious; you can hand-crank a metallic whale to animate its flukes and interact with automata.
Drive too fast through Owaka and you will miss Teapotland, probably the largest collection of
al fresco teapots in the world. We are delighted to recognise a duplicate of the straw-hatted cow with a bird on its back that inhabits our kitchen back home, and smug to see that another of our novelties, in the form of a radiator with bathroom accessories, has yet to find a place in Owaka.
Another bizarre attraction is Steampunk HQ at Oamaru. Weird and grungy objects confront the eye. Step into The Portal and find yourself at the centre of an apparent infinite space of twinkling lights. Admire the giant flies on the wall. Feed the tilted steam engine and hear it wheeze like a Baldwin Street climber. The Land of the Long White Cloud is indeed also the Land of the Endless Quirk.
Send your 400-word contribution, with full postal address, to travel@theaustralian.com.au. Columnists will receive a set of three Murph and Murph insulated and water-resistant
cotton canvas zippered pouches with stainless-steel carabiners that can attach to this West Australian company’s Cove Beach All Purpose Bags. The pouches come in small, medium and large sizes and all have finger grips. Available in three striped colourways, including blue (pictured); $90.