Bushy Point Fernbirds B&B

About this place

Bushy Point Fernbirds is a small eco-focused bed and breakfast on Grant Road, Otatara, on the western edge of Invercargill. The B&B sits within a privately owned and managed protected forest and wetland reserve on the edge of the New River Estuary. There is no passing traffic, and the operators describe the setting as secluded enough that guests feel they are staying deep in the bush, while still being about ten minutes' drive from the Invercargill city centre.

### The setting and conservation work

The owners have worked continuously on improving the reserve as bird habitat. Pest animal control has produced a measured 400 per cent increase in fernbird numbers over two years, and tūī and bellbirds provide a dawn chorus. Guests can watch birds from the breakfast table and from the door of their room, and there is a track and boardwalk through the pest-protected reserve that can be walked at leisure.

### Accommodation and facilities

This is a small, owner-operated property rather than a hotel. Guest accommodation, breakfast and free wireless internet are provided. Tourism New Zealand lists nightly rates in the $160–$170 range and records the business as open 24 hours, seven days, operating January to May and September to December — in other words, closed over the depths of the southern winter.

### Location and access

The property is around seven kilometres from town, about ten minutes from Invercargill Airport and roughly 25 minutes from the port at Bluff. It is positioned as a stopover before or after Stewart Island, the Catlins or Fiordland, and is close to the Riverton–Invercargill leg of Te Araroa, the Long Pathway.

### Meetings and events

No meeting rooms, function spaces or event services are advertised. There is no published capacity, conference facility or catering offer beyond breakfast for house guests.

### Suitability

For the business-events market, Bushy Point Fernbirds is an accommodation and experience supplier rather than a venue. It suits individual business travellers who want quiet, visiting academics or conservation professionals, and incentive or partner programmes where a guided nature walk and birdwatching add something distinctive to an Invercargill itinerary. Groups will need meeting space from other Invercargill venues and should confirm room availability well in advance, given the property's small scale and seasonal opening.