Stewart Island with "heavy bumpy" ferry ride

The outbound ferry journey from Bluff (place name for Mrs. O. ;-)) to Oban on Stewart Island was not for the faint of heart or stomach. We both managed it well, although the waves seemed bigger than the small catamaran boat and more and more passengers gradually reached for the small white bags. It felt like a free water coaster ride!

When we arrived on Stewart Island, we started hiking in the rain and were happy again about our Vogt ponchos, they actually fit over the large backpacks! At the beginning of the track we walked through a work of art that was built by an artist based on a Maori legend. According to legend, the South Island of New Zealand is a canoe that the god Maui used to fish. The North Island represents a huge fish. The canoe is held by an anchor (= Stewart Island). The artwork depicts a large chain of the anchor that we walk through at the start of the track.

The first campsite was beautifully situated in the dunes, directly behind a small beach. There were 3 other tents there with us for the night, so it was very quiet! The next day we went away from the coast, through the forest to a small fjord in the middle of the island. The 13km weren't very nice because there were no views, the path was very muddy and it was tiring to find side paths or even to climb something because of the ~17kg on your back. The birds also seemed to avoid the dense forest and so we had few bright spots. At the beginning of the path we had already found our highlight of the day, a parrot: the "red-crowned parakeet".

We arrived at the camp relatively tired, which was also in a forest with no view, and we also had a small lake under the tent - not our day...

The next day we happened to find a campsite near Allan in Oban, which made us more reconciled with Stewart Island. Allan was a strange little guy, about 70 years old, hard of hearing, but somehow kind and helpful. Also with a beautiful, huge property where Kiwis also live. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to meet one. There were little huts to sleep in everywhere, each one built differently, with great, creative ideas. It just all seemed a bit old.

Allan kept driving to the harbor to pick up 4 more guests, but always came back without anyone. Since we had gone to the place and wanted to go back, he took us back to his property, which we weren't angry about. But you can't imagine it: there were cobwebs everywhere in the car! He also told us a lot about the island and the animals, but we couldn't ask him any questions because he couldn't understand a word. Crazy!

The next day when we woke up it was very stormy. We watched the small planes trying to land, some of them turned 90 degrees, like toy planes in the air. We feared a tough ferry ride. Luckily this was more relaxed (for us) than the outward journey - or we became cooler and more seaworthy.

The afternoon in Bluff was relaxed. We visited the mainland end of the chain and went for some really local fish and chips.

Now we are in Glenorchy (next place name - Kochrunde ;-)) and are finally relaxing in the SUN! Also time to get your shoes back into shape after hard use.

@Kalle: Krefi (the tapir) didn't really feel like getting out of his backpack in the weather on Stewart Island. He did it one time, can you find him?