A few of my favourite things 13-Oct-2004

Hang up your hiking boots and take a walk on the quirky side of New Zealand. Lynnette Hoffman reveals some attractions with a difference on the South Island.
 
The Lost Gypsy Gallery, Papatowai, the Catlins

About two hours from Invercargill and more than an hour before Dunedin, this little gallery is just off the highway in the Catlins, a densely forested region that sprawls for miles across the southern tip of the island.

Most visitors come for the wildlife, but Blair Somerville’s gallery of interactive gadgets — hundreds of them packed into a purple house-bus hybrid — is as good a reason as any.

Press the doorbell and a whale squirts water at you. Touch a wire flower petal and a light will turn on. Wind a crank and a toy fish swallows a boy. Push a lever, pull a string, turn an old record player on, wind a knob ... whatever you choose, you set a whole world into motion.

Somerville, a former engineer from Auckland, has plans to expand the gallery into a museum. Until he does travellers can test drive his inventions for free.

The Seal Colony, Kaikoura

Right in the centre of town, where all the walking trails start, you’ll find hoards of seals congregating on the rocky shore. They arch their backs, flap their flippers and fins, sneeze and entertain in every way possible short of balancing beach balls on their noses. It’s exactly as the name implies, a seal colony — not a zoo, or anything else where admission is charged or nature is somehow altered.

Arc Cafe, 135 High St, Dunedin

Owned by a charitable trust, this not-for-profit cafe exists “to make Dunedin a better place”. What that means in real terms is gourmet food and classy entertainment at fast-food prices. There’s an all-vegetarian menu, but there’s no fake tofu ham here: I chomp down a penne salad with hazelnut sauce and feta.

With a pool table, free Internet access and a spacious stage, this is the sort of joint where you can linger for hours over a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and never sense an impatient glance or hear: “Can I get you anything else?”

The Internet access may be achingly slow, but never mind, it’s the atmosphere that counts here. Arc Cafe doubles as a live music venue, with nightly gigs including everything from jazz and blues to funk and acoustic, and even an occasional beatnik poetry night. On cold winter nights a fire crackles away.

Dunedin Botanic Gardens, Dunedin

New Zealand’s oldest botanic gardens attract runners and walkers all year round with landscaped trails and diverse flora and fauna.

The gardens are known for rhododendrons (you can wander through more than 3000 of them), but perhaps one of its most notable features is the bird aviary. Head here for a chance to chat with friendly parrots, spy on exotic birds from Africa to Brazil and glimpse some of New Zealand’s hard-to-spot native species.

Cinema Paradiso, Wanaka

Cynics might say the intermission midway through every movie is just another way to make a buck, but with fresh-baked biscuits and homemade ice cream no one in the audience seems to be complaining.

Cinema Paradiso is as classic as they come. You take your mug of hot chocolate and plate of chocolate banana walnut slices right into the movies. There’s a funky mix of old chairs, beat-up couches and the sort of lounge suites you find on front porches, but the most sought-after seating is the canary-yellow Morris Minor convertible — so you can make believe you’re at the drive-in. There are even a handful of reclining airline seats, which are surprisingly comfy when not crammed into a plane.

Chocolate Moon Cafe, 173 Hardy St, Nelson

Stop by this chocoholics paradise for a recovery snack after walking in the nearby Abel Tasman National Park to the west, or the Queen Charlotte track to the east. The cafe is tiny, but with a front counter brimming with Belgian chocolates and a menu overflowing with chocolaty treats it’s as though you’ve stepped into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. The mud cake is enticing enough on its own, but buried beneath raspberry coulis, hot fudge and coffee liquor sauces and whipped cream, it’s irresistible. Wash it down with some oh-so-thick hot chocolate — the kind they serve in European cafes. A word of advice ... don’t share.

Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve, Hanmer Springs

This is where Christchurch folk go for a weekend away, but many rushed travellers skip it. They shouldn’t.

A soak in Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve is a perfect remedy for muscles that ache after hiking nearby Mount Isabel.

Open until 9pm, you can explore the forests and town by day and lounge in the landscaped pools by night. It’s also an ideal spot to meet the locals. Bring plenty of drinking water, oh, and listen up — some of the world’s finest eavesdropping is found here.

Stuart Landsborough’s Puzzling World, Wanaka

Your eyes really do play tricks on you in this colourful complex of illusions, puzzles and mazes. Albert Einstein follows you wherever you move in the hologram hall, the tilting room will have you unsure whether you’re coming or going (or standing or falling), and the world’s first three dimensional maze is guaranteed to keep you on your toes.

Best of all, if your patience wears thin, there’s the Puzzling Cafe where you can snack and puzzle at the same time.
 

First published in Australian Doctor.