🌊 South Coast Adventure: Invercargill & Bluff

Day 1 - Coastal Drive 📍 Kaka Beach Big waves, lots of surfers 🏄🏻‍♀️, but meh scenery. 📍 Nugget Point Hiked 1km to the lighthouse—epic views but crazy windy! ☁️ Cloudy skies ruined sunset (classic South Island weather luck!). 📍 Skipped Slope Point (too similar) and drove straight to Invercargill—long journey! 🚗 Day 2 - Abalone Hunting & Bluff 🔪 Pāua Knife Quest: Went to the fisheries office—got directed to a "Hunting & Fishing" store (charged $17.99! 💸 Later found out 4 Square sells them for $14... suspicious much?). 🏖️ Oreti Beach Drove onto the sand—one of NZ’s few drivable beaches! 🚙 (Saw some locals chilling.) 🦪 Bluff Disappointment: Fowler’s Oysters was closed 😭, but the harbor views + railway tracks made for great photos! 📸 📍 Stirling Point Snapped the iconic signpost (even spotted "Suqian, China"!). Met Japanese tourists laughing about their tiny hometown on the board. 🍽️ Oyster Cove No Bluff oysters (off-season), but the Chinese-run restaurant served decent food (tiny portions though!). 🌿 Coastal Walk Friendly locals kept saying "Hi!" 👋 (Regret: Didn’t hike all the way to the abalone spot—turns out it connects to the lookout!). 🦪 The Great Pāua Hunt Checked tide apps ⏳ and headed to Stirling Point rocks first—only found a baby (released!). 🏃 Plan B: Beautiful Lookout Parked at Bluff Lookout, hiked 30min downhill (💀 brutal climb back!). Met a pro Chinese hunter who scored a black pāua—he took the flat trail (should’ve asked for directions!). Chickened out of the "steep wild path" to the rocks (thanks, Reddit warnings!). 🌅 Sunset Reward Made it back to the lookout for golden hour magic—moonrise + sunset at once! 🌙✨ #SouthIslandNZ #RoadTripNZ #Invercargill #BluffOysters #HiddenGems