New Zealand is amazing. Pure and simple. From beaches to glacier to volcanoes, it’s got almost every type of landscape you can think of, and few more unique ones besides. Stewart Island is a last treasure of unique Kiwi-ness… an island sanctuary for so many of the country’s threatened species like the kiwi and a whole heap of other animals and plants.
I headed down there after Dunedin – my previous trip I had checked out many of the classic NZ sights, and something about the southernmost island intrigued me.
So, giving a Dave and Drea a break from too much sustained Hawkins cheesiness, I got into Invercargill the night before. Today was ferry time…
… alas, there was one small problem. Invercargill isn’t a big city but somehow I got confused about meeting the bus. A ridiculously friendly (like so many Kiwis) barber helped sort me out and called the tour company. The bright side was that I had time to grab an amazingly good raspberry frosted, cream-cheese filled muffin and a cappuccino at a local café. Starbucks could learn a few things!
The ferry ride itself was a stroke of luck. Stewart Island is reached across a strait that normally is really really choppy. And, (manly cough) while I’m as tough as the next guy, uh, my tummy ain’t. So I was already thinking that I might turn a few shades of green.
But, it all worked out and we pulled into Oban, the tiny town of 350 that’s the main settlement. Again, the off-season worked to my advantage – I was able to get a single room in the nice South Sea hotel for hostel prices. With a harbor view, and the town pub downstairs, I was set for some serious chilling out.
The first day was pretty relaxed – I ended up hiking to the local observation point, and even with the foreboding green skies, Stewart Island is a really pretty place.
A pub dinner and beers went down well – the pub has a very small town vibe; it was funny listening to the locals, as they grumbled and joked about the other inhabitants.
The next day, I had a bit of a lie-in before embarking on my slightly over-ambitious cycling/hiking trip. The plan had me renting a mountain bike, then heading out to the west coast trailhead for a few hour walk.
No problem except for two things. One – my biking legs were very out of shape, and two – Stewart Island is deceptively hilly, with constantly rolling terrain by the coast. And a bonus number three – I miss SF’s hill workouts; London’s flat terrain really don’t provide a challenge.
That all led to me being very very beat, very quickly.
But, it was all worth it – I had a good time exploring a local coastal inlet, with loads of ducks and other birds…
Then, passing several small groups of houses and beaches, I got to the trail. And gorgeous it was – winding its way along the coast, with a constant chorus of bird calls.
The trail started at a massive chain sculpture, symbolizing the ancient Maori story of Stewart Island being the anchor for the big land canoe of NZ.
A 45 minute walk took me to Little River, where I relaxed with a picnic lunch and a book before being chased off by some truly irritating sand flies.
On the way back, it was funny – I was feeling good at getting out of doors and some exercise, until I got passed by a bus of middle-aged hikers I had seen on the trail, who had smiles tinged with pity as they took in my near-walking pace.
Out of shape and out of gas, I turned in the bike four hours early, and then checked out the town… which amounted to a cool t-shirt shop that had the unusual operating hours of being open from 1-2:30 daily.
The afternoon brought an amazing rainbow – I was pretty excited and told the hotel staff. They were distinctly underwhelmed; I guess with all of the clouds and rain, they’re a daily occurrence.
Another pub dinner and beers, then it was time to turn in – the next day was a trip to the Uva Island bird sanctuary, bright and early…
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