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Southland's lush, green pastoral lands are among the richest in the country. Throughout Southland are a number of accessible waterways that make the region a mecca for fishing enthusiasts. Southland is also lucky to boast large areas of near-pristine rainforest, ideal for day walks and tramping.
The region's largest urban centre is Invercargill with many elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, gardens and landscaped parks. As in Dunedin to the north, people of Scottish descent also settled Invercargill.
A half-hour drive south from Invercargill is the fishing port of Bluff - home to the famous Bluff oyster and the annual Bluff Oyster and Southland Seafood Festival.
From Bluff visitors may be able to spot Stewart Island, a haven for native bird life and the only place in New Zealand where visitors can readily see kiwi in their natural habitat.
Invercargill
Invercargill is New Zealand's southernmost city and the commercial centre of Southland. It is the gateway to the Catlins, Fiordland and Stewart Island.
Bluff
Bluff is renowned for being the town where the highway begins; visitors come from far and wide to have their photo taken at the Stirling Point signpost. Stirling Point is also the starting point for a number of easy walking tracks that provide spectacular views over Stewart Island and Foveaux Strait.
The Catlins
The Catlins is an area where native forest meets the water's edge; a place of hidden waterfalls and river valleys; of rocky coastal bays, inlets and estuaries where the great Pacific Ocean bites into the land. Of international geological significance is Curio Bay's 160-million-year-old fossilised forest, best viewed at low tide. The Catlins is home to an abundance of wildlife and Nugget Point (Tokata) is a stunning and accessible place for viewing seals and penguins. Here, close to the rich sub-Antarctic feeding grounds, can be found some of the world's rarest marine animals - three penguin species (including hoiho, the yellow-eyed penguin), Hooker's sea lions, Hector's dolphins, elephant seals and New Zealand fur seals.
Gore
Gore is a popular spot for brown trout fishing - particularly on the Mataura River between October and April. The River boasts a world-wide reputation owing to the fact that it has the highest population and catch rates of any river in New Zealand.
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