Southern Scenic Route — Local services in South Island

Having done just about all of NZ's great drives over the last decade, we assumed the lack of hype about this one meant it would be not be quite as good. We were very wrong. The Southern Scenic Route has just about everything - waterfalls, forest drives, beaches, caves and some very limited, but still decent places to stop for a bite. First of all - plan. This is a very long drive with very few places to stay, or eat, between Dunedin and Invercargill, so, start early and make it a long day, or else you will need to ditch a few of the stops. You also need to time the Cathedral Caves stop - it's only available for 3 hours at a time - 2 hours before and 1 after low tide, and there is no avoiding this - arrive at the wrong time and you will miss out. We chose to skip Nugget Point, due to the 45 minute diversion, and focus on the drive and the waterfalls. The falls are easy to get and well worth the short diversions - McLean and Purakaunui Falls are reachable by just about anyone at any fitness level. There is free parking and toilets at all the main sites, but onlyPurakaunui Falls had a coffee cart the day we were there (and that was just for peak holiday season). So, bring food, or, again, plan. We had a great lunch at Whistling Frog (close to both Mclean Falls and Cathedral Cave) and a nice coffee break at Niagara Falls Cafe. After McLean Falls you can drive one of 2 roads straight to Invercargill, or divert to the coast. We diverted, and the drive was pleasant, but not spectacular. However there is a great swimming and surf beach at Waipapa Point, and Fortrose has a nice lagoon. Invercargill is very underwhelming, but the best option for decent, affordable accommodation, and restaurants. On day 2 we followed the wild, wet and windy southern coast and saw some spectacular beaches, and had a great coffee stop at Orepuki Beach Cafe before turning north for Te Anau. Everywhere you look there are fantastic views - forests and rolling hills at the start, short diversions to waterfalls, the lighthouse and caves, then the majestic mountains on the final run to Te Anau and Queenstown. Don't miss 5 Rivers Cafe at Mossburn for the final short break...

If you are going to do this trip and stop at all the options, then make sure you are up early and ready to go and leave yourself the whole day. As well as the drive, there are a lot of stops that easily gobble up more time than you planned. Like when we got to Waipapa point, the first stop there was a Sea Lion on the beach and the view from the light house at Nugget Point was so good we sat for a while just to enjoy it. We ended up having...

It's not a "just-drive-along-road". You've got to take some time for exploring this wonderful part of South Island NZ. Open and hidden bays, waterfalls, petrified trees, sea mammals, penguins and Sea birds and a lot of wind. And a warning to those who are bound to their mobile phones: be aware that in some places you won't have...