We took the evening in Invercargill to resupply and repack our bags to get ready for a few days on the somewhat remote Stewart Island. This would be the farthest south that we currently planned on traveling during our trip. First step, get up early and take a shuttle bus for thirty minutes through the rain and wind to Bluff.
Bluff is known for it’s large aluminum smelter and...not much else. There were some large ships at the wharf and our little Stewart Island ferry. This is where things got fun. The ferry probably only fits sixty people but everyone is in one cabin along with the captain and crew. After loading our bags into small shipping crates that a crane placed on the deck, we set off across the Foveaux Strait.
It started well enough, we even saw an albatross, but then we crossed out into the open sea. For the next 40 minutes, it was like being on a 60 person jet ski as the boat powered up one swell and down the next while pitching side to side. I’ve never been on such rough waters. A crewman described it as “light chop” but I’m pretty sure he was kidding. Pretty sure. Amazingly enough, only one passenger got ill that I saw anyway. By the time we motored into Oban, I was finished my complimentary coffee and we set off to the backpackers.
I highly recommend staying at the Stewart Island Backpackers. It has a very cozy and spacious common room, there are a lot of people going on the Rakiura Great Walk, and Vicki, the manager, is super awesome. She set up a big pot luck on the second night we were there and everyone got a chance to stuff themselves. She started and used to host the now very popular Quiz Night at the South Sea Hotel bar. She has a loud, raspy voice and we were told that she cursed like a sailor when leading the quiz. She was really fun.
Setting out for the Rakiura from the awesome backpackers.
While hanging around Oban for a day and a half, we did a few short walks. We went out to Ackers Point the first day and watched a NZ navy vessel sail off. They were making a quick stop in Oban while returning from a super secret mission to Antarctica. Along the walk, we came upon the nesting ground of a bunch of kakas, which are a type of medium sized parrot. They were jumping from branch to branch fighting each other and preening and screaming.
Stewart Island is one place that you can supposedly find kiwi in the wild quite easily. There was a book in the backpackers detailing places and times guests had seen them. We heard kiwi a few times during our stay but never saw one. We also didn't go out of our way to look for them at night. If we happened to have a chance encounter with one, great! If not, we weren't too keen on walking around with flashlights scaring them.
The path to Akers Point and the navy vessel in the distance.
Kakas are very active on the island. They are easy on the eye, not so easy on the ear. They scream a lot. All day. They are fun though.
The next day, despite the constant rainfall, we took a local ferry over to Ulva Island. The island is a preserve that is 100% free of avian predators. The pests that exist all over New Zealand - rats, cats, stoats, possum - have been eradicated. The birds were a bit subdued by the rain but it was still a nice walk and we even saw the elusive Yellowhead. We saw a couple of seals on the beach and they went into the shelter after we ate lunch there to check for food. They exited disappointed.
This ferry was fun too. It was just a small engine craft that fit maybe eight people. We happened to be on it with a couple whose family has owned a place on Ulva Island for decades and always travels there for the holidays. They had a large box of booze with them. Ulva Island was the furthest south our trip will take us. Fun fact, Stewart Island is as far south as Seattle is north.
Pied Shags are not waterproof so they always pose for cool pics with their wings spread out to dry.
Plenty of Variable Oystercatchers on the island. They screamed and chased me when I unwittingly walked near their nest. I was very scared.
The muttonbird scrub leaf is used as a ferry ticket. Until the 1970's, the leaves were accepted as legal post. The blue boat is the ferry.
The next day we set out for the Rakiura Great Walk. There is no one to port your bags from stop to stop on this one so we had to bring all our gear with us. The first thing we had to do was walk about 2km to get to the start of the track. Walk to the start of the 8km walk. Fun times!
The first day was a nice mix of coastal and forest walking. It was lunchtime and low tide when we came to Maori Beach, so we set up our camping chairs and had a little picnic. Collapsable camping chairs from REI were a good find and came in quite handy throughout our trip. The day was pleasant but the weather would soon turn foul.
Follow the dotted red line through the forest and over the hills.
"It's so nice. It's definitely not going to pour rain tonight." We erroneously thought.
Fortunately, we were able to make it to the campground at Fort William Hut and set up our tent before the rain and wind rolled in. It pretty much poured all night. This is not good for two reasons. One, our rainfly is not really waterproof anymore so we basically were dripped on all night. Two, the track would be absolute crap the next day.
The Rakiura is basically a three day walk through the forest. There were a good amount of roots and a lot of mud to tramp through all day. Of all the walks we did, this one was my least favorite. My pack was a bit heavier than I would have liked and I'm not a huge fan of staring at trees all day, up and down hills, in the rain and mud.
I hope you like puddles and mud and trees because you're gonna see a lot of them for three days.
Oh, and sandflies. You'll have a good time constantly swatting them away. They enjoyed our not waterproof rainfly.
Maybe I can't complain because some other people were doing the ten day walk that encircles a large portion of the island and we heard that the mud out there is knee deep. After clambering over slick boulders and fallen trees, they will stop at such places as East Ruggedy Hut and Big Hellfire Hut. Good times!
Anyway, way set up camp the second night after the rain had abated. A woman had given us a hut pass that morning so we cooked dinner with the inside people in the North Arm Hut. As had become common in our time in New Zealand, as soon as they heard we were American they asked us, “What the hell is up with Donald Trump? Could he really be President?” We were also questioned about America’s gun culture and laws. A lot of people find it baffling.
We made our exit from the hut before the sun set, which was around 9:45 on the island, and settled down for the night. It didn't rain, for which we were thankful, and we set out the next day slightly less wet than the day before.
Waterproof pants and boots were just great. Really, really great.
An uneventful third day of walking brought us to the end of the track. Again, we had "finished" the walk but had to continue another 30 minutes or so into town. We caught the ferry back to Bluff and the shuttle back to our lovely friends Ray and Dawn at the Tower Lodge. Thankfully, the strait wasn't nearly as rough coming back.
Lunch on the water on our last day. It mostly didn't rain that day. Mostly.
Despite the rain and cold, Stewart Island, and it's 400 full time inhabitants, had a rugged charm. It was fun to walk amongst so many birds that were not shy about flying around our heads. The mud cleaned off pretty easily and we had a nice spa waiting for us in Invercargill. The time had come to head back north and walk the peaks of our second Great Walk, the Kepler Track.
You're a nice little place, Stewart Island. Thanks for having us.