Southland...

Before I start, you should note that all the 'facts' given on this page are actually cooked
up off the top of my head and could well be not entirely accurate.

Southland is an area at the bottom end of the South Island of New Zealand.

What is it famous for?
Not a lot really. :-)

Its a reasonable place to live in that its not very crowded (like most of NZ!) and you and your property are generally fairly safe. In fact, very safe.

There is some quite nice scenery but the more spectacular stuff is in the bordering districts of Otago (to the north) and Fiordland (to the west). Southland consists of coastal hills to the east, a central plain with steeper hills and mountains to the west and is mainly an agricultural community with sheep, dairy and deer farming being the main industries.

Rainfall is about 44 inches (110 cm) fairly evenly distributed throughout the year (we don't get droughts). Temperature at sea level averages around 20 degrees C in the summer and about 8 degrees C in the winter.

The main towns in Southland along with (very approximate) populations are:

Invercargill - 50,000
Gore - 20,000
Te Anau - 5000?

I live in the countryside near the small town of Wyndham (pop. ~300) in eastern Southland.