On the 26th I hitched to Invercargill and wanted for Nolan for several hours on the TA. When he didn't pass by, I went and reserved a hostel in town, planning to go to the Catlins over the next four days and see some penguins, seals, porpoises, and a petrified forest.
But that evening as I was making dinner a couple of Germans I met on the Hollyford walked through the door, and told they had just booked flights to Stewart Island, and standby flights were fairly cheap. So I hurriedly checked bus & flight timetables, made a reservation at a hostel in Christchurch, and went to bed.
I awoke at 5:30 and walked to the airport, arriving around 7:15, and managed to get a standby flight. I flew in a 6 seater to Halfmoon Bay (Oban), the only settlement on Stewart Island, and immediately started tramping on the Raikura track towards North Arm hut. The track was pretty muddy - up to my boot laces, but as its a Great Walk, it was mostly well maintained. Birdcalls were abundant, as Stewart Island has no stoats or mice, invasive creatures the DOC spends millions trapping on the mainland because they eat native bird eggs. Kaipipi Bay was beautiful and calm, sheltered from the wind and waves of the ocean. At North Arm I continued onto Freshwater Hut.
This is where I met mud. First up to my ankles, then midcalf, then up to my knees. It was a tough slog, and I had to tighten my laces to prevent my boots getting sucked off my feet. Around 6 I made it to Freshwater Hut, exhausted and afflicted by an unusual tendon pain by my left knee.
I slept until 10 the next morning and didn't leave til noon. It was a short day; 16k to Mason Bay along a very flat, fairly muddy (but not as bad as yesterday's) track. At Mason Bay I walked out to a beautiful view of the ocean and huge sand dunes. That night a Czech couple and I walked out on a kiwi hunt. After an hour of tramping in the rain, we came back disheartened and fell asleep. In the morning they said they'd gone on a walk 30 minutes prior and seen a kiwi in just 50 meters from the hut, so I donned my boots and set out.
I took a couple of random side trails before something told me to stop. I stood perfectly still for two minutes, listening attentively. Then I heard some brush moving ahead of me to the left, behind some bushes. I gently pulled back the bushes and saw the brush waving around, but still I couldn't see the animal. I watched for another few minutes and finally the kiwi appeared! It struck me how round it was - most birds have a pointed butt, but the kiwi is shaped like a ball. Its long nose peered at me, then it went back to work digging up shrubs. I watched for a few minutes before it teetered away in search of more food. My New Zealand experience is now complete!
I walked back to Freshwater hut that day, spending the night with the same Czech couple and Israeli guy as the day before. We played cards for a couple hours then went to bed.
The next morning I left at ten and trudged through the mud back to North Arm hut, where I saw the Germans who had urged me to come to Stewart Island. This really is a small place. Rather than retrace my steps and head straight for Halfmoon Bay, I walked along the Raikura Track North, towards Port Williams Hut. Reaching that, I headed East, arriving at Maori Beach just as the dark red Raikura sun was setting. The sky was illuminated red and orange - absolutely beautiful, and of an intensity unique to Stewart Island.
As I made myself some dinner I saw some eyes watching me from behind the bushes. I heard undergrowth being torn up, so I assumed it was a kiwi, and put away my headlamp so as not to frighten it. I took out my camera instead and took a photo with a flash. Looking at the picture, it certainly had the round body of a kiwi, but it seemed to have ears... I took another photo in the dark and screamed like a little girl when I saw it. It was some creature I'd never seen moving towards me in the dark. The scream made it climb a tree which happened to be right over the shelter I was planning to sleep under. Naturally, I couldn't sleep until it came down. Naturally, it didn't come down. At 3am I got out of my sleeping bag, made some tea, put away my stuff, and headed out for Halfmoon Bay by headlamp in the pouring rain.
Immediately I was in trouble - Maori Beach has a tidal Crossing to get to the track. This means two things -
1) The tide has to be low to cross
2) The path is unmarked and on a beach
Visibility was horrendous, and I had to trust my phone's GPS and maps to take me to the trail. After 15 nerve racking minutes full of backtracking and swearing I found the trail. An hour later I got to the second tidal Crossing. Now it was an hour before high tide, and I had to cross an inlet 200-300 meters wide. The water got closer and closer to my ankles, visibility was nonexistent, and my phone's compass was garbage. I spent 30 minutes crossing, but made it eventually. I walked the rest of the way to Halfmoon Bay without issues, and arrived just in time for my 8:30 flight back to Invercargill. I ran to the bus stop and caught the one leaving for Christchurch just in time. Lo & Behold, Nolan was on the same bus!
Nolan walked the last ~84 kilometers of the Te Araroa in just shy of 20 hours, so I'll be buying him a well deserved beer in Christchurch. Congratulations on completing the South Island Nolan!
All my photos can be viewed on my Facebook page, facebook.com/phonsinger. I would put them on weebly but the weebly app is trash, and deletes photos when I try to add them.
But that evening as I was making dinner a couple of Germans I met on the Hollyford walked through the door, and told they had just booked flights to Stewart Island, and standby flights were fairly cheap. So I hurriedly checked bus & flight timetables, made a reservation at a hostel in Christchurch, and went to bed.
I awoke at 5:30 and walked to the airport, arriving around 7:15, and managed to get a standby flight. I flew in a 6 seater to Halfmoon Bay (Oban), the only settlement on Stewart Island, and immediately started tramping on the Raikura track towards North Arm hut. The track was pretty muddy - up to my boot laces, but as its a Great Walk, it was mostly well maintained. Birdcalls were abundant, as Stewart Island has no stoats or mice, invasive creatures the DOC spends millions trapping on the mainland because they eat native bird eggs. Kaipipi Bay was beautiful and calm, sheltered from the wind and waves of the ocean. At North Arm I continued onto Freshwater Hut.
This is where I met mud. First up to my ankles, then midcalf, then up to my knees. It was a tough slog, and I had to tighten my laces to prevent my boots getting sucked off my feet. Around 6 I made it to Freshwater Hut, exhausted and afflicted by an unusual tendon pain by my left knee.
I slept until 10 the next morning and didn't leave til noon. It was a short day; 16k to Mason Bay along a very flat, fairly muddy (but not as bad as yesterday's) track. At Mason Bay I walked out to a beautiful view of the ocean and huge sand dunes. That night a Czech couple and I walked out on a kiwi hunt. After an hour of tramping in the rain, we came back disheartened and fell asleep. In the morning they said they'd gone on a walk 30 minutes prior and seen a kiwi in just 50 meters from the hut, so I donned my boots and set out.
I took a couple of random side trails before something told me to stop. I stood perfectly still for two minutes, listening attentively. Then I heard some brush moving ahead of me to the left, behind some bushes. I gently pulled back the bushes and saw the brush waving around, but still I couldn't see the animal. I watched for another few minutes and finally the kiwi appeared! It struck me how round it was - most birds have a pointed butt, but the kiwi is shaped like a ball. Its long nose peered at me, then it went back to work digging up shrubs. I watched for a few minutes before it teetered away in search of more food. My New Zealand experience is now complete!
I walked back to Freshwater hut that day, spending the night with the same Czech couple and Israeli guy as the day before. We played cards for a couple hours then went to bed.
The next morning I left at ten and trudged through the mud back to North Arm hut, where I saw the Germans who had urged me to come to Stewart Island. This really is a small place. Rather than retrace my steps and head straight for Halfmoon Bay, I walked along the Raikura Track North, towards Port Williams Hut. Reaching that, I headed East, arriving at Maori Beach just as the dark red Raikura sun was setting. The sky was illuminated red and orange - absolutely beautiful, and of an intensity unique to Stewart Island.
As I made myself some dinner I saw some eyes watching me from behind the bushes. I heard undergrowth being torn up, so I assumed it was a kiwi, and put away my headlamp so as not to frighten it. I took out my camera instead and took a photo with a flash. Looking at the picture, it certainly had the round body of a kiwi, but it seemed to have ears... I took another photo in the dark and screamed like a little girl when I saw it. It was some creature I'd never seen moving towards me in the dark. The scream made it climb a tree which happened to be right over the shelter I was planning to sleep under. Naturally, I couldn't sleep until it came down. Naturally, it didn't come down. At 3am I got out of my sleeping bag, made some tea, put away my stuff, and headed out for Halfmoon Bay by headlamp in the pouring rain.
Immediately I was in trouble - Maori Beach has a tidal Crossing to get to the track. This means two things -
1) The tide has to be low to cross
2) The path is unmarked and on a beach
Visibility was horrendous, and I had to trust my phone's GPS and maps to take me to the trail. After 15 nerve racking minutes full of backtracking and swearing I found the trail. An hour later I got to the second tidal Crossing. Now it was an hour before high tide, and I had to cross an inlet 200-300 meters wide. The water got closer and closer to my ankles, visibility was nonexistent, and my phone's compass was garbage. I spent 30 minutes crossing, but made it eventually. I walked the rest of the way to Halfmoon Bay without issues, and arrived just in time for my 8:30 flight back to Invercargill. I ran to the bus stop and caught the one leaving for Christchurch just in time. Lo & Behold, Nolan was on the same bus!
Nolan walked the last ~84 kilometers of the Te Araroa in just shy of 20 hours, so I'll be buying him a well deserved beer in Christchurch. Congratulations on completing the South Island Nolan!
All my photos can be viewed on my Facebook page, facebook.com/phonsinger. I would put them on weebly but the weebly app is trash, and deletes photos when I try to add them.