The ferry ride over to Stewart Island takes about an hour from Bluff. Although the seas weren’t particularly rough, I was glad to get off the ferry. I left my pack at the hostel and walked over to the water taxi to Ulva Island. Ulva is a bird lovers paradise since predators have been eradicated. I saw quite a few…as well as a sea lion.

Back on Stewart Island, I tried to look for kiwi after sunset but with no luck despite waiting about an hour at a place where they’ve been seen quite a bit recently.

My second day was quite relaxed, just chilled at a cafe for a bit, where I was visited by a kaka looking for a handout. I did a short walk to some bays and during my lunch break was surprised by a sea lion emerging from the land somewhere and heading across the beach and back into the water.

I went kiwi spotting again that night and had success this time! They were quite funny to watch and one of them would chase the other while poking it with it’s long beak. They mean one also had a horrible screaming fit at one point, so it was probably a male since the male cries are not very melodious. They didn’t seem that bothered by all the people watching them though.

Day 3 was the start of my Rakiura walk, one of NZ’s great walks. It’s about 32 km of track plus about 5 km and 2 km on the road out of and into town at the beginning and end respectively. Today was mostly coastal and the track was in the forest but did emerge to cross a few beaches.

I arrived at the first hut mid afternoon and was quickly driven inside by the sandflies.

I added the bell bird to my collection and possibly the rifleman, although it’s very small weighing 5g, so it was hard for me to see it well.

Most went out looking for kiwis once it got dark, but no one had success. I was just exhausted and couldn’t find the energy to go looking for kiwi and just went to bed.

Day 4 was the second day of the Rakiura track. The track heads into the forest and you leave the coast behind until you get to the next hut. This section is renown for mud, which is unusual for a great walk since the tracks are usually very well made and maintained. It was muddy, but I managed to keep my feet mostly dry although the bottoms of my shoes and gaiters were wet and muddy. I had a nice moment under a tree where two korimakos and two tuis were hanging out and singing. The Fern canopy was really nice and reminded me of a cathedral ceiling with pillars and arches.

I arrived at the hut by 12:30 and thought about carrying on even though I’d booked a bunk there. In the end I had lunch and inertia set in so I stayed. A few of us went for a swim, which was very refreshing. The afternoon went by quickly, chatting with the others at the hut and playing a 90s trivia game in the evening. I did manage to go look for kiwis before bed but with no success. I also went at 1:30 in the morning since I woke up and another woman wanted to go out looking. We saw possums and dear and something did run across the path in front of us that may have been a kiwi…

Day 5 was my last day on the Rakiura track. It was a windy morning but the rain from the night seemed to have passed. The track was also a bit muddy and I saw a few more tuis, korimakos and pikawas (fantails: not sure why I didn’t get any photos of them since they were all over and are my favorite). There were some interesting mushrooms along the way.

I got to the junction to Oban before noon and decided to add on a short loop since I had plenty of time before the ferry at 3:30. The loop had some coastal views and you end up in Golden Bay where I had caught the ferry over to Ulva the first day.

The wind hadn’t died down at all, if anything it had picked up and I had to hold on to my lunch to keep it from flying away. Signs and garbage cans were blowing down the streets. This didn’t bode well for the ferry but I still opted not to take gravel since I didn’t want to be drowsy. That was probably a mistake since the 4m swell played havoc with my stomach. There had employees going around and checking on everyone and I got a cold towel for my neck since keeping cool helps and I tried to keep my eyes on the horizon (when it wasn’t hidden by the crazy tilt of the boat). The woman I was sitting next to was really enjoying herself and wasn’t nauseous at all, lucky ducky.

I got off the ferry so fast that I sadly left my water bottle behind. I managed to gradually feel better as I rode the bus to Invercargill, where I was booked in a hostel, the Southern Comfort. It was a lovely place, in a quiet street but near the center and it had a kitchen and common area that made me feel like I was a in a home. I think my favorite hostel of the entire trip. I went out for Thai food though since it was way closer than the supermarket and it was quite blustery out (the wind was strong enough that I could feel the wall of the hostel shaking in the gusts when I leaned against it).