Well they threw some stunning choices at you didn't they! But anyway ... I think you will grow to appreciate the 'uniqueness' of any one of those locations. As far as our food goes I would suggest to Helen that we have matured in the culinary sense over the past number of years and the 'meat and two veg' approach is the reserve of the terminally culinarily challenged. Immigration has added to our multi-cultural mix of restaurants and ingredients available. I can't think of anything that you would not be able to source if you yearn for the tastes of 'home'. You can look forward to: Bluff Oysters Nelson Scallops Cervena (farm raised venison) Lamb (can't remember the last time I saw 'Mutton') Excellent farmed Salmon Excellent cheeses Great stone fruit (2 hours north of Invercargill) Quality vegetables (including organic produce) The list goes on .... Festivals ... you just missed the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika (just south of Greymouth on the West Coast) and the Marlborough Wine and Food Festival... coming up are the Organic Food Festival in Oamaru, the Bluff Oyster Festival and numerous other food and wine related events through the year all around the country. If you choose Invercargill, you are within 2 hours of some of the best Pinot Noir producers in the world. You will also be in the heart of 'Speights' country .... "Good on ya mate" You could even grow to love Marmite, Hokey Pokey, Lamingtons, ANZAC biscuits, Pavlova, Scones, Pikelets, Pies, Fish n Chips on Friday nights, Pineapple Lumps, Feijoas, Pumpkin as a vegetable and not in a pie, Hangis, Barbies, Cribs, Kina, Paua, Belgium, Tea and all of those other little 'Kiwi' foodie bits 'n pieces that make us 'unique'. I could go on and on ...... We look forward to having you stay with us down here .... and hey .... we've even gone and moved the bathrooms inside them houses now and installed some o dem new fangled electric stoves