Stewart Island

Once again, it rained all night, so I hurried over to the kitchen house to make coffee and prepare sandwiches. Today, I am taking the ferry to Stewart Island, a small island to the south inhabited by about 400 people and supposedly countless animals. Three-quarters of the area is a nature reserve, but you can take day trips, a 3-day tour, and even a 11-day hike across the island and stay in simple huts. The catch is that you have to book weeks in advance during the peak season, which of course I did not do... Let's see what I can do.

The ferry, a small catamaran, leaves on time and navigates through a gray fog to the only 'town' on the island, Oban. By chance, I am sitting among a group of retirees from Brazil who are in high spirits. A few women are singing the whole time, every wave is celebrated, and there is constant chatting... An hour later, we arrive, and my first stop is the Visitor Center. As I feared, all the hut spots are booked until mid-February, so I can only do day trips... Slightly disappointed, I look for alternative accommodations and find an affordable backpacker hotel and book 2 nights. Later, I talk to the owner again, asking if it's possible to shorten the 3-day trail... It's not, but he knows that some people have done it in one day...and he offers to drive me to the starting point tomorrow morning, saving me 1 hour on the road. So, tomorrow I'll be doing the Rakiura Track crash course... To practice, I'll do 2 circuits in the area, the practical thing about the rainforest is that the rain doesn't really come down to the ground. So I'll only get wet on the beach or on certain sections of the road. But tomorrow, it might stay dry...