If you are cruising to the lower extremities of New Zealand or beyond, the Heritage city of Invercargill is the last vestige of civilization you are likely to see. The rural city of 50,000-odd inhabitants can lay claim to the world's southernmost Starbucks. In fact, at 46'25"S latitude, it is the southernmost city in the Commonwealth of Nations and one of the world's southernmost cities.
The port facility is remote (32 kilometres) from downtown at a place called Bluff, a village in itself with less than 2000 residents. There is a cute maritime museum with all sorts of artifacts, but most visitors will use the port for departing on Antarctic voyages or by ferry to Stewart Island, 61 kilometres further south again across Foveaux Strait.