Day 14: En route to Queenstown

2.00PM: After our feast at the Bluff Oyster Festival, we continued to our next destination – Stirling Point, southern-most of New Zealand while the northern-most of New Zealand is Cape Reinga.

4.30PM: En route to Queenstown. 

It was a beautiful drive to Queenstown. Every turn was a surprise! The weather was so gorgeous and scenery so beautiful that these photos don't do justice.

Lake Wakatipu 

7.30PM: The day ended off with a pot of quick and easy New Zealand instant noodles. 

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Information you might be interested in:

Stirling Point

46° 36' 53" S, 168° 21' 21" E 
39 Ward Parade,
Bluff 9814, New Zealand

Day 14: Bluff Oyster & Food Festival

Itinerary for Day 14/31: Bluff Oyster & Food Festival > Queenstown 

8.00AM: Early check-out from Beach Road Holiday Park. 

The annual Bluff Oyster & Food Festival attracts thousands of visitors causing accommodation sites in Bluff itself are usually fully booked or much more expensive. For that, Beach Road Holiday Park was a great choice for us. Located slightly off Bluff itself reasonably priced at NZD27 per night for a powered site, no complaint. We did had a bit of the challenge locating the place after the sunset. It's a large site, probably the largest all the other holiday park that we stayed. One thing to note is that the road surface are rough and not maintained, expects bumpy ride. 

Note: Beach Road Holiday Park is not on Beach Road! It's on 375 Dunns Road.

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8.15AM: En route to Bluff, the southernmost town of New Zealand.

9.00AM: Greeted by this beautiful sunrise! 

Public parking is available on site at NZD5

Bluff Oyster Festival, probably the most anticipated event of the entire trip, happened to fall on one of the day of our trip and the itinerary was actually plan to make sure that we will reach Bluff in time for the festival. The Bluff Oyster Festival is an annual event usually held in May. Bluff oysters are known to be one of the world's best oysters which are usually harvested between March until July. Oysters that are so good that worth an annual celebratory. It's definitely an event that all oysters lovers can't miss! The actual date will be updated on the event's official website. 

Entrance to Bluff Oyster Festival: We didn't purchase the tickets in advance, tickets are sold at the entrance of the festival. The NZD20 ticket only entitled you with unlimited reentry to the festival area with no food and drinks included. 

10.30AM: The moment the gates opened, we dashed right to the oyster booth and ordered our first dozen.

The oysters are freshly shucked, priced at NZD23 per dozen and NZD12 half dozen. The freshness and the juiciness of the oyster is just incredible. The taste that I can never find in any of the oysters that I've eaten in my entire life (or maybe not yet). I'm not bluffing you, Bluff oysters are really the best oyster I've eaten!

Well, enough of chatter. Here's what the festival is all about:

The Kiwis call the sea urchins as kina. 

The white yoghurt looking cup (no, it wasn't yoghurt in there) is supposed to be blue cod, NZD8. Codfish are my favourite! But this turned out to be rather disappointing.. 

Look at the crowd! 

Sparkling Rosé with souvenir glass priced at NZD12 

 Chocolate bites NZD2

I call it the Bluff oysters takeaway (in a sealed container), NZD20

I call this the ikan bilis (anchovy) omelette.  

Lanyard that doubles up as a wine glass holder!  

This scene totally melts my heart.

2.00PM: ..and we left after a morning of moist-seafood scented winter breeze; live performances; oysters and more oysters; salmon; codfish; cider; wine, all under the clear blue sky.. Total spending of the day: NZD152, it was all worth it! I could do this over again!

DAY 14: TO BE CONTINUED! 

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Information you might be interested in: 

Beach Road Holiday Park
375 Dunns Rd, 
Invercargill, New Zealand

Phone: +64 3 213 0400
Email: info@beachroadholidaypark.com
http://www.beachroadholidaypark.com

Bluff Oyster Festival
Lee Street, Bluff 
http://www.bluffoysterfest.co.nz