Dreams will come true for oyster lovers at this year’s Oyster Bay Bluff Oyster & Southland Seafood Festival with an exciting revamp transforming the event into a gastronomic extravaganza. The iconic Bluff oyster remains the star attraction. Held over two days the event is New Zealand’s only indoor food festival, ensuring thousands of foodies flocking south can satisfy their cravings for the mighty mollusc.

The Bluff Events Centre host the two-day festival , the open area has been uniquely designed to celebrate southern food and culture.

Many found it hard to understand, but when expatriate New Zealander Dr John Money donated his internationally recognised personal art collection to the Eastern Southland Art Gallery he made Gore the home of one of the country’s most important, and original, art collections in the country.

The Gallery also houses New Zealand's only permanent room dedicated to the works of artist Ralph Hotere as well as a small, regionally focused permanent collection, staking Gore and Southland’s claim as a must-see destination. Much of the development of the new $1.1 million John Money Wing is due to curator Jim Geddes’ commitment to bringing contemporary art within reach of smaller communities. For more information visit www.gorenz.com

Ulva Island is significant nationwide as part of the leading edge in island conservation management. Lying just inside Stewart Island’s Paterson Inlet the island is one of New Zealand’s few open island sanctuaries. It has an important role to play in the conservation of threatened species, as well as providing a great opportunity for people to experience New Zealand ecology.

The Department of Conservation manages it as an open sanctuary where once common native birds can be seen at close quarters. An open sanctuary is a place where New Zealand’s native plants and birds can live in a safe environment and the public can enjoy and learn about them. Visitors to Ulva Island can see rare birds and plants at close quarters without harming them.
For more information visit http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=35677

The Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track was a finalist for this prestigious tourism award amid strong competition for the Guild's Overseas Award presented each year for the best new tourism project.

The track was nominated by UK-based Gill Williams who covered the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track for The Times (London). "I loved it," she said of her Hump Ridge experience, "especially the way that an area that traditionally was involved with logging has embraced the opportunities tourism is bringing in. I'm passionate about eco issues, and felt very strongly that this initiative should be rewarded."

One of the country’s newest three-day walking tracks, the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track is shaping up to be one of its best. The track passes through landscapes that include coastline, the world famous Waitutu coastal marine terraces, podocarp and beech forest, to sub-alpine settings and spectacular sandstone outcrops.

Walkers see unique wildlife include seals, Hector dolphins and keas. Get in now before the whole world knows about it.
www.humpridgetrack.co.nz

A Hollywood movie titled The World’s Fastest Indian has been made about New Zealand motorbike speed legend Burt Munro. Oscar award winning Sir Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal, Silence of the Lambs, Meet Joe Black) plays Burt Munro. The movie crew will follow Burt’s journey from California to the Slat Lake Flat of Utah. Filming commenced in Invercargill at Southland’s beautiful Oreti Beach at the end of 2004, this is where Burt held many of his speed trials to test his bike. Burt Munro gave his life’s work to re-engineering a 1920 Indian Scout motorbike to break records throughout New Zealand and the USA from the 1920s to the mid 1970s.

The film is set to capture the thriving spirit inherent in Burt’s makeup and reveal a man very much respected and liked for his persistence, humour and quirkiness.

For more information visit www.worldsfastestindian.com

He’s grumpy, over 100 years old and tends to look down his nose at everyone, but Henry the tuatara is one of Southland’s most popular residents.

Southland Museum and Art Gallery Curator Lindsay Hazley has dedicated more than three decades to tuatara and heads New Zealand’s most successful breeding programme. But, with a tendency to bite the tails off his girlfriends, it’s fair to say Henry provides star, rather than paternal, qualities.

There’s nothing fishy about tales of monster trout lurking in Southland’s pristine rivers.

The Mataura River is a magnet for international anglers, keen to test their skills on one of the best brown trout fishing rivers in the world. It boasts the highest trout population and catch rates of any river in New Zealand. Indeed, the Eastern Southland township of Gore, which straddles its banks, has laid claim to the title: The Brown Trout Capital of the World.

While the spotlight is on the Mataura, there are numerous southern waterways that will richly reward the casts of the keen angler.

A passion for aircraft from a bygone era has soared to new heights for Maeva and Colin Smith.

Since establishing the Croydon Aircraft Company in 1986, the Mandeville couple has cemented a reputation and client base spanning the globe.

During his farming days, Colin dedicated his engineering skills and spare time to rebuilding a Tiger Moth aircraft. His talents impressed and he was asked to rebuild another vintage plane, sparking the idea for the Croydon Aircraft Company.

Mandeville airfield – New Zealand’s oldest aerodrome – is located on a main tourist route between Gore and Queenstown and provided the perfect place to set up shop.

The Seriously Good Chocolate Company is behind a southern icon you can really sink your teeth into. Confectionary connoisseurs the world over are indulging in an unforgettable bite of Southland – chocolate truffles that bring a taste to your lips as unique as the province itself.

With the irresistible smell of her grandfather’s West Coast chocolate shop still lingering from childhood, Jane Stanton turned her sweet dreams into a recipe for success, forming the Seriously Good Chocolate Company five years ago.