kiwi_rob

Knowing of your soft spot for Invercargill, mglb, I thought that you might be interested to know that:

- The area has just suffered a late, but very severe, snowfall that has, amongst other damage and significant loss of lambs, caused the collapse of the fairly new sports stadium in Invercargill. The locals are really upset about the loss of this significant feature of the city.

- The city has been rather maligned in the latest edition of Lonely Planet. It seems that not everyone shares your enthusiasm for the place.

Rob.

ivenotbeeneverywhere

One of my best friends comes from Invercargill and I too have been there. She would not go back and neither would I - it is one of those places which makes you ask " why does it even exist"?

mlgb

I actually saw that article in stuff.co.nz, which I check most days. It was very lucky that no one was hurt in the ceiling collapse. I am touched that you thought of me KiwiRob.

I am just a sucker for authentic towns and authentic people. Not an ounce of pretension anywhere. Some pretty cool golf courses, antique shops and that delicious blue cod.

Yes I know everyone loves to make fun of Invercargill and I think some of the residents are sort of strangely proud of its reputation for bad weather. I nearly bailed out of my Hump Ridge hike because there was a lightning storm in Invercargill at 5 am, but my hosts assured me that the weather would always be worse in Invercargill than anywhere else.

caligirl56

I just checked out stuff.co.nz--it looks like a great resource. Thanks for mentioning it! This is why I love Fodor's--if you hang out long enough, you can always learn new things--and sometimes quite unexpectedly!

mlgb

Another good news source is
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

caligirl56

Thank you! I've bookmarked it on my computer.