Guidebook takes aim

Guidebook Lonely Planet throws another rotten tomato at Cromwell's Big Fruit sculpture in its latest New Zealand guidebook, and Invercargill finally gets a reprieve - of sorts.

The annual release has become as much about brickbats as it has bouquets.

Among the glowing recommendations, the guidebook writers single out Cromwell's Big Fruit sculpture for special mention as the region's tackiest tourist attraction.

However, Cromwell and District Promotions group president Adrian Somerville said love it or hate it, the Big Fruit sculpture was worth preserving.

"It is an icon. Everyday you see someone getting their photo out the front of it."

Despite drawing the constant attention of Lonely Planet writers, it was unlikely the sculpture would be removed, and could be added to in the future, with grapes and a bottle of wine just some of the suggestions.

Other Otago localities fare a little better, with Queenstown "the South Island's premier tourist town" and Dunedin "New Zealand's indie music heartland and definitive student party town".

Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said Lonely Planet was an important publication and respected by independent travellers, but a bad write-up was not necessarily the death knell for a town.

"If you get bad publicity, you would be able to do something constructive about it."

That's the view shared by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, who led campaigns against Lonely Planet following unfavourable reviews pronouncing the city's citizens as having "bad haircuts and checked shirts".

The latest book describes the city as "flat and suburban, with endlessly treeless streets, Invercargill won't enthral you if you come here via the Catlins, or Fiordland".

However with praise for the city's "arty bits", restaurants, micro-brewery and even the city's mayor, Mr Shadbolt said he was pleased by the turnaround.

"Every year they get better and better."

- hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz


What Lonely Planet said about us
Dunedin

The country's oldest university provides loads of student energy to sustain thriving theatre, live music and after-dark scenes.

Naseby and Clyde
These areas compete for the title of New Zealand's cutest towns, and rugged and laconic "Southern Man" types can be seen propping up the bar in backcountry hotels.

Cromwell
A giant fruit salad of apples and stone fruit sits at the edge of the town - tackiest tourist attraction.

Arrowtown
The only gold being flaunted these days is on credit cards and, surrounded by a bonanza of daytime tourists, you might grow wary of the quaint historical ambience

Alexandra
Some travellers entranced by well shorn sheep and rabbit-free slopes, stay for seasonal fruit picking work.

Oamaru
Nothing moves fast in Oamaru: tourists saunter, locals languish, and penguins waddle.

Queenstown
No-one's ever visited Queenstown and said, "I'm bored".
Looking like a small town, but displaying the energy of a small city.

Wanaka
Lakefront area retains a laid-back, small-town feel.
It's definitely not a sleepy hamlet anymore, though, and new restaurants and bars are adding a veneer of sophistication.

Balclutha
South Otago's largest town, but it is of little interest to travellers other than as a place to stock up supplies before setting off into the Catlins.

Invercargill
Flat and suburban,with endlessly treeless streets, Invercargill won't enthrall you if you come here via the Catlins or Fiordland.

 

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