South Island Road Trip Day 11: Invercargill → Dunedin 🚗💨

⏰ 8:00 AM Departure – The longest drive day (5+ hours!), but packed with coastal gems for this lighthouse lover! Here’s the epic route: 🌊 Coastal Highlights 1️⃣ Stirling Point (25km detour to Bluff) Iconic "world’s end" signpost 📍 Pro tip: Check Bluff tide times for oyster/abalone hunting! 🦪🔪 2️⃣ Waipapa Point Lighthouse (1hr drive) Scenic stop with endless sheep views 🐑 + photogenic lighthouse 🏮 3️⃣ Slope Point Almost NZ’s southernmost tip – wild and windswept! 💨 4️⃣ Curio Bay & Porpoise Bay Peaceful beaches where dolphins 🐬 and whales 🐋 sometimes appear! 5️⃣ Florence Hill Lookout Heart-shaped coastal vista? 💙 Debatable but gorgeous! 6️⃣ Kaka Point (arrived ~2:00 PM) Cute beach town ☁️ – perfect for cloud-gazing therapy. 7️⃣ Nugget Point (near Kaka) Hike to the lighthouse 🏔️, spot seals on cliffs below! Route note: Should’ve done Nugget first, then looped back to Kaka for café breaks. ☕ 8️⃣ Brighton Beach (1hr from Nugget) White sands, surfers 🏄, giant kelp forests 🌿 – surreal! Warning: Steep, winding roads – drive slow! 9️⃣ Tunnel Beach Skipped (too hungry 😩) – saving for tomorrow! 🏙️ Dunedin Arrival "Edinburgh of the South" – charming, but meh if you’ve seen the real Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. 🚂 Railway Station: Overrun with tripod-wielding tourists – had a fight with a photo-hogging mom 👊 (priorities, right?). 🍜 Dinner at Taipei 101 Beef noodles, pork belly, greens – heavy but hearty! 💰 $72 NZD for 3. 🏨 97 Motel Moray Ditched pricey EBB Hotel – this old-but-okay motel has an elevator (rare!) and walkable location. #NZRoadTrip #SouthIslandNZ #Dunedin #LighthouseChaser #CoastalDrives #TravelFails