NZ/AUS EPIC HOLIDAY - Days 45-49

Stewart Island

Day 45 - 14 March - Invercargill to Oban

I was told by several trampers that I couldn't miss Stewart Island, or Rakiura to use it's Maori name, so today I left the mainland and headed towards the small island. Well I say small but that's just relative. It may be dwarfed by the mainland but it's still tens of kilometres across and even the northwest circuit walking track, which only covers about one third of the island, takes about ten days.

I wasn't planning on doing a walk that long though. The three day Rakiura track would do me just fine. But today I needed to get there. I was rather horrified at the somewhat exorbitant ferry prices to the island. It was only 20 NZ$ (£8/11US$) more to fly there so I figured I might as well just do that since it would be more fun. It was a cloudy but settled day when I reported to Invercargill airport. The experience of flying there really was quite delightful and just as rustic as you might expect from an airline that has one plane and runs a service to a minuscule town with a population of four hundred on a small offshore island. It was just like every other flight I've taken except on a much much smaller scale. I still had to arrive early, check in my luggage, wait at the departure gate, except I arrived 20 minutes early and boarded the plane 5 minutes before takeoff. And the flight took less than 20 minutes, great!

The airport still had the facilities of a regular airport but again on a much smaller scale. There was one check in desk with about two people working there, a small coffee stand provided refreshments and that was about it. Much more quaint than a giant overcrowded charmless mess like Heathrow Airport. During my time there a tiny Air New Zealand plane arrived to whisk passengers off to somewhere more crowded no doubt but I was boarding Stewart Island Air which consisted of one delightfully compact twin propeller aircraft that seated about eight people, although today I was only traveling with two other passengers.

We took off and flew so low over the landscape that I swear we were so low we almost ran the risk of being hit by a frisbee! Sadly no cabin crew came by to dispense food and drink and I was thoroughly disppointed that there was no in-flight movie, I mean they could have shown a Tom and Jerry cartoon or something! Seriously though it was great fun. Oban airport didn't even have any buildings, just a tiny little runway on a hill. Hard to imagine a jumbo-jet landing there. We were picked up by a small van and taken to a tiny wooden shed in town that appeared to be Stewart Island Air HQ.

I immediately liked Stewart Island, it was simple, laid back, rustic and cheerful. I was going walking tomorrow but I still had a whole day ahead of me so I took a water-taxi to Ulva Island. It's a tiny little island just offshore that has become a bird sanctuary since it was declared utterly predator free about ten years ago. Before humans came and ruined everything the whole island was predator free and New Zealand's totally unique wildlife was free to roam around. Many of the bird species in the country can't even fly, after all they don't need to when they have no natural predators. Then people arrived and brought rats, cats, dogs, possums, stoats and soon most of New Zealand's wildlife was threatened with extinction. After clearing Ulva Island of predators the Department of Conservation moved several bird species there and they flourished. I managed to sight several of them and get some decent photos. Here is a little bit about each one.

Weka

This flightless bird is the most likely species you're going to see in the area. They're slightly dopey but inquisitive and are often drawn to people. The most fun I had with these guys was to flip over rocks on the beach to reveal small crustaceans that the Wekas sprang forward and feasted upon.


New Zealand Robin

These cute little guys like to follow people around. They're not being friendly, they're keeping an eye out for tiny insects that are disturbed as we walk on by. It's nice to be able to get so close to such a tiny little bird, most ones this size are very timid around humans.


Fantail

These guys also like to follow humans as they turn up insects with their footsteps. They're named after their distinctive tail which is shaped like a...well you'll never guess what.


Oystercatcher

These guys kept their distance but they were still entertaining to watch as they scurried around the shallow waters looking for food.

I got a good look at several other birds before I left the island although most of the sightings were too fleeting to get any photos. I returned to Stewart Island and the weather had brightened, the clouds clearing entirely. Not only that but the forecast was looking bright for my walk over the next three days. I returned to my hostel in high spirits, ready for my hike.



Day 46-48 - 15th-17th March - Rakiura Track

I had barely started the Rakiura track when, much to my consternation, my bloody camera battery ran out. A rather unfortunate occurrence as there would be no such thing as electricity for the next three days to recharge it. So for the rest of this segment you'll have to make do with the pitifully low quality snapshots taken from the tiny webcam on my palm pilot. Well at least it gives you an idea!

The Rakiura track is a three day hike that introduces trampers to a tiny portion of Stewart Island and it's picturesque beaches and forests. The more adventurous can opt for the ten day north-west circuit but I only had time for the shorter track. The Rakiura track, I'm forced to admit after completion, should really be named the "ol' shortcut trail" since it incorporates the first and last days of the ten day track with a nifty shortcut linking the two together. Still I thoroughly enjoyed my walk regardless of any longer treks I may have missed.

My biggest problem with the track was that it's too damn short! Each segment is a meager twelve kilometres, hardly an epic undertaking for a fit tramper. Not only that but it's over fairly even terrain. After the first day i arrived at my booked hut far too early in the day, leaving me wondering what I was going to do all day. Still I learned my lesson and for the remaining days I took it real slow, stopping at regular intervals to soak up the scenery.

Speaking of scenery, it was all rather pleasant. Although there weren't any single sights in particular that were utterly breathtaking, the whole experience was nevertheless very enjoyable. Stewart Island is extremely remote and it's only settlement is the tiny village of Oban. Other than that it's pretty much all beaches and thick impenetrable forest. Most of the walking tracks skirt the coastline, sandwiched in between the beaches and the thick vegetation.

The beaches were very tranquil and, for the most part, deserted. Not only that but the weather was sunny and beautiful for the duration of my entire hike. One of the best views of the track was from the wonderful lookout tower that was near the end of the second day. The small tower looked out over the bush-line and provided spectacular panoramic views of the island, including where the track had started and where is was going. I was really mad about my camera dying at this point!

Another highlight of the trip was the quality of the huts. They were spacious and cosy and even had a wood burner for heating the place up. Both of the huts I stayed in were on the coast with a good view of the beach and they were great places to unwind and socialise with fellow trampers.

My favourite part of the trip was on the first night when a group of us went down to the beach and lit a fire. It was a clear and settled night, perfect for stargazing, and I realised that it had been far too long since I had done anything like this. As far as I'm concerned, this was the height of luxury for me. There really is nothing like a roaring fire outside on a quiet night. Perfection would have been achieved in the form of a couple of freshly caught fish for cooking on the fire, but this was still more than good enough for me. Keep your luxury hotels and limousines, this is the life for me.

I returned to my hostel in Oban at the end of the third day for a rest though in all fairness I didn't really need one, I had only walked about 36 kilometres in three days. I spent some time lounging around the hostel but eventually I was overcome with boredom, I made my way to Oban's only pub for a couple of pints.

Cheers everyone!

the view from lookout tower

Day 49 - 18th March - Oban to Invercargill

I would have loved to have stayed on Stewart Island long enough to complete the entire northwest circuit but ten days seemed a bit too much time to spend in one place. After all I've still got the whole of the east coast to explore and I haven't even got to Fiordland National Park yet, arguably New Zealand's most spectacular region. There I've also got Mount Aspiring and Mount Cook National Parks to attend to. So many places and such little time! Trust me, two and a half months is an astonishingly fleeting amount of time with which to explore New Zealand. I didn't even make it to Napier or Mount Taranaki on the north island.

But I digress. After four days of perfect weather it was time for the rain clouds to return, and for me to leave. Although I would have liked to have flown away in clear weather it seemed silly to complain. After all Stewart Island is known for it's endless rain so four days of perpetual sunlight is about as lucky as you can get.

I boarded the delightful little aircraft belonging to Stewart Island Air once again and in the blink of an eye I was back in Invercargill. Not much to do there so it proved to be a rather quiet day.

Tomorrow I'm off to yet another national park, the best one of all: Fiordland National Park.