The 24-Hour City

In a way, I'm glad I only spent one day in Invercargill. As much as I like the city, I think I got to see everything there is to see in just one day. I think Invercargill would be a more interesting city if it had been built right on the sea but it's set several kilometers inland and so there is no oceanfront upon which to walk. I had to be satisfied with a lagoon just south of the city. I also didn't have a car which meant that I couldn't travel to Bluff, Invercargill's port town a little further south.

The morning began inauspiciously with a cold wind blowing quite strongly and gray clouds in the sky. The temperature was not expected to go higher than 10C which was cold for this time of year. Hope as I might, the weather didn't improve and eventually rain did come, but not merely drizzle. Combined with the high winds, the rain became driving, almost to the point of horizontality and cold water on skin, amplified by a cold wind, really takes the heat out of you. Luckily, that didn't happen for most of the day and I managed to get some good viewing in before the rains.

Invercargill is not a big place and so I spent the day walking around the city. Invercargill is based on grid pattern and many of the streets are named after rivers in Scotland. The two main streets, Tee and Day, meet in the southwest of the city center at a traffic circle which has a monument to those who served in the Boer War. I noticed that many New Zealand cities have separate monuments for the Boer War and then all other wars are commemorated by a single monument.

One of the most interesting things I saw was a sundial built in the shape of an umbrella. This was to reflect that Invercargill's streets are aligned to the cardinal points. The sundial is one of Invercargill's most well-known artistic works.

Around noon, seeing rain clouds approaching, I decided that it was best I get indoors so I went to see a movie, Wall-E. This animated feature, made by the same people who made Finding Nemo, is the story of a robot, the last inhabitant of Earth, who ends up helping save humanity. What I found most interesting was that through minimal dialogue, the writers were still able to convey emotions, ideas and the general plot with ease. The movie was highly entertaining as well as thought-provoking. Better still, once I left the movie theater I saw that the rain had stopped and I could continue my discoveries.

After the movie theater, I paid a visit to the Southland Museum and Art Gallery (SMAG). Although only a small institution, it did have some fascinating exhibits. The art gallery had works from many periods and the museum portion had exhibits on local history from the first settlement by the Maori to the present. There were also an exhibit dedicated to New Zealand's subantarctic islands, 5 groups of islands spread about the south Pacific and protected because of their ecological importance. There was also an exhibit about The World's Fastest Indian and another one on space exploration.

Perhaps the most fascinating exhibit was that of the tuataras (too-ah-TAH-rah), members of a nearly extinct reptilian species. Although they look like lizards, the tuataras branched off from the lizard family before the dinosaurs evolved. They are all extinct now except for 2 species native only to New Zealand. This tuatara exhibit is part of an effort to protect them as they are endangered. Perhaps the most interesting feature about them is their life span --- 300 years. There is one tuatara there who is now about 110 years old.

I left the SMAG and headed back south out of the city. It was here that the wind and rain finally caught up with me. Unable to walk to Bluff and the ocean proper, some 25 kilometers further south, I walked along a boardwalk built on what is now a protected lagoon. I couldn't stay very long as the driving cold wind and rain were quite a lot to deal with. I walked back to the youth hostel my brother an I were staying at and we then went out for dinner at the Lone Star.

I'm sure Invercargill has its moments and that it looks better in the sunshine, but I really wouldn't want to stay there for any length of time. 24 hours was enough time to see everything this southern city has to offer. I read that Invercargill has never ranked particularly high on travellers' lists and severs primarily as an overnight stop. Nonetheless, I'm glad I stopped by. My brother and I went to sleep early that night as the bus back to Dunedin left at 08:45. All in all, I'm glad I visited Invercargill but don't spend more than a day there.