Fiordland & Southland - New Zealand's South Island - page 584

WORTH A TRIP
GORE
Around 66km northeast of Invercargill, Gore is the proud 'home of country music' in NZ, with the annual Gold
Guitar Week ( www.goldguitars.co.nz ) in late May and early June ensuring the town's accommodation is booked
out for at least 10 days per year. For the other 355 days, good reasons to stop include a notable art gallery, a neat
little museum and the chance to view vintage aeroplanes.
Sharing the same building, the Hokonui Moonshine Museum ( www.hokonuiwhiskey.com ; admission $5;
8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-4pm Sat, 1-4pm Sun) and Gore Historical Museum (admission by donation)
combine to celebrate Gore's proud history of fishing, farming and illegal distilleries. Admission to the Moonshine
Museum includes a wee dram of the local liquid gold.
The outstanding Eastern Southland Gallery ( 03-208 9907; www.esgallery.co.nz ; 14 Hokonui Dr; admis-
sion by donation; 10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 1-4pm Sat & Sun) - aka the 'Goreggenheim' - in Gore's century-
old former public library houses a hefty collection of NZ art including a large Ralph Hotere collection. The amaz-
ing John Money Collection combines indigenous folk art from West Africa and Australia with works by iconic
New Zealand artist Rita Angus.
Croydon Aircraft Company ( www.croydonaircraft.com ; 1558 Waimea Hwy, SH94; admission $10;
9.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm Sat & Sun), 16km along SH94 towards Queenstown, restores vintage air-
craft. Inside a viewing hangar (admission $10) several gems can be seen including a rare Dragonfly. Flights are
also offered in a 1930s Tiger Moth biplane ($95/220 for 10/30 minutes). The adjacent Moth
( www.themoth.co.nz ; 1558 Waimea Hwy, SH94; lunch $12-26, dinner $27-45) is a bright and breezy place for a
meal.
See www.gorenz.com for more on Gore.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Bluff
POP 1791
Bluff is Invercargill's port, 27km south of the city. It's also home to NZ's only aluminum
smelter, but the main reason folk come here is to catch the ferry to Stewart Island/Rakiura
or to pose for photos beside the Stirling Point signpost , which signifies that you've reached the
furthest southern reaches of NZ. Sorry to disappoint you, but you haven't, for despite the
oft-quoted phrase 'from Cape Reinga to Bluff' and the fact that SH1 terminates at Stirling
Point, the South Island's southernmost point is Slope Point in the Catlins, with Stewart Is-
land/Rakiura and remote dots of rock lying even further south. But let's not let the facts
get in the way of a good story…
Salty tales abound round these parts, as evident in the small Bluff Maritime Museum (
03-212 7534; 241 Foreshore Rd; adult/child $2/free; 10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun) , complete
with century-old oyster boat and steam engine. It also houses interesting displays on Bluff
history. The Bluff Heritage Trail brochure will guide you around local points of interest.