Stewart Island - South of Everything

January 20, 2009

Stewart Island is the “other” island of NZ. In Maori legend the North Island was a big fish caught by a hero and the South Island was the canoe that he was in. Stewart Island was the anchor that they threw out to stop the canoe. The island has a year round population of 360 people with another couple of hundred visiting as tourists during the better weather.

The good news is that there is never snow on the island. The bad news is that it is located in the “roaring 40s”. That means that it is almost always windy and rain can come at any time.

Most of the island is a national park and this is a place where the kiwi still thrives. Some of the off shore islands around it are predator free and for many of the native birds this is their last refuge. The deluge of rats, pigs, dogs, cats, mongooses and more have devastated them on the two big islands.

To get to Stewart you generally take a ferry. Now I am not a good sailor especially when you don’t have anything to do but look at the waves. This ferry held about 100 people and was designed for this route. It was also a catamaran and that means it floats like a cork on the top of the waves.

Today wasn’t a bad day for this trip with about two to three metre waves and a 30 kilometre wind. Personally I hated it. The ship went up and down with the waves frequently well above the window level. I spent half the trip clutching the rail on the back deck and getting soaked by the rain just because it made me feel better.

Finally got to the tiny settlement of Oban on Halfmoon Bay after an hour that felt twice as long. It is the only settlement on the island with a couple of pubs and a small store. Walked a few of the local roads and trails before bunking into the hostel. Heard some stories of the ferry where it literally left the water in rough weather. Not looking forward to the trip back.