Name	Bluff Hill
Location	Bluff
Co-ordinates	1244121  4827550
Alternative co-ordinates	1243066  4827034
Configuration	Network
Distance	9.5 km
Status	On-leash
Grade	Easy=Moderate
Access	Two car parks, at the ends of Gunpit Road (off Walker Street) and Flagstaff Road, both accessed from Gore Street.
Description	Bluff Hill (Motupōhue) offers a network of walks of different grades, giving spectacular views over Foveaux Strait and the Southland Plains. The paths pass through native forest which in many places has been bent to the will of the wind, so that it hugs the hillside almost jealously. As well as views, there are information panels at  panels at key points, telling the history of the area. The dog-friendly section of Foveaux Strait walkway runs from Stirling Point to Lookout Point (site of the Foveaux Memorial) on a flat, well-formed path; beyond that the path is on private farmland and dogs are excluded. The Millennium Track offers a different experience and involves a bit of a climb as it runs through native bush between Lookout Point and the Bluff Hill summit. To make a longish, 3–4 hour loop walk, do the return trip via Topuni Track. The Glory Track is also provides another bush alternative, linking Stirling Point or Gunpit Road with the coastal walkway and passing historic gun pits.
Connecting tracks	Includes Fovaux Walkway, Millennium Walkway, The Glory, Topuni and Pearce Street tracks.
Further information	https://bluff.co.nz/walking-tracks/

The Bluff

Most end of the world places, in my experience, live up to their name, and seem not just at the end of the world, but lost somewhere, beyond all hope. The Bluff beckons with the same dismal prospect as you drive south out of Invervcargill, reflecting perhaps on the surprisingly interesting archuitecture of the town, which no-one even seems to mention, and across the bleak plain towards the distant industrial belt. When you reach Bluff, itself, hopes don't rise much. Beyond the tin roofs of the warehouses, the gantries and containers and oil storage tanks, the town has a tired and neglected look. There's history here, but no-one seems proud of it or to care to any extent. The rather fine frontage of Bluff Lodge is spoiled by its tatty neighbours. The houses are rusted and sagging. 

Continue along the rather grandly names Marine Parade, to the end of State Highway 1, and the scenery still fails to charm: a stern vista across a grey sea; a bright yellow signpost, pointing to all the places that you can can't see from here - Dog Island, Ruapuke, Sydney, The Equator; a curving, bush-clads slope, rather like the paw of some huge creature reaching for the water. But take the footpath from the right-hand end of the carpark and the mood changes. The path curves around the headland, leading you on. There are side-tracks leading off, upwards to the right. Below, the sea slops and slurps against the rocks. Terns and seagulls wheel and scream.

It's a round trip, either by continuing on the Foveaux walkway around the headland, from where you can see Stewart Island on a good day, or the shorter way by following the Glory Path up to gun emplacement. Either way the vegetation is interesting and changes from wind-carved coastal shrubs through rimu and miro and rata and beech as you ascend. There's bits of history to see as well, some of it supported by useful information boards. As the end of the Te Araroa Trail, Bluff must come as a bit of a disappointment as well as a relief. But for an hour or so's walk with the dogs, it's a very pleasant spot.
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