NZ, a nation of islands.
Stewart Island, the third largest and one that reminds many of what NZ looked like before humans arrived.
Shameless Plug: if you ever go to NZ, you'll need to try Hell Pizza, don't mind the name, it's some of the BEST pizza I've ever had. Very unique combination's, all created by the founders (Kiwi's).
Though I didn't get to see an Albatross in Dunedin, I did catch a glimpse of several on the way to Stewart Island, gliding over the water effortlessly (beautiful).
Getting into Oban, the village on Stewart Island, you could see countless secluded beaches, inlets, bays, all surrounded by native NZ bush.
After getting hut passes for the Great Walk, and with all the gear ready, (food bought before getting to the Island), I headed toward the trail head.
All the water I drank was rain water collected in large tanks at the huts and camp sites (no stomach bug this time ;)
Once the track was reached, a chain link that denoted the entrance and also the anchor of Maui (video).
The first leg of the journey was pretty nice, with native bush on one side and the rocky coast/cliffs on the other. Crossing over some beautiful beaches, swing bridges and native NZ bush. One of the highlights was Maori Beach, a beautiful stretch of soft sand full of shells.
Getting into Port Williams Hut was nice, there were already people there; I'd over packed, but oh well it was nice to have 'too much' food just in case.
The rest of the day was spent meandering through the secluded beach near the hut, avoiding the sandflies, chatting with the fellow trampers, exchanging stories around the wooden stove burner, and of course refueling with delicious backcountry food ;)
A few of the people went out to look for kiwi's but none were sighted or heard. We stayed up telling ghost stories and about haunted places we've heard of or been to until eventually one by one we went to bed.
The second part of the track had a lot of boardwalk to keep people from straying off the track and from damaging the bush. There were some muddy parts and one thing I did not enjoy seeing were Rats, big ones too. These are some of the pests NZ is trying to get rid of b/c they've destroyed the native ecosystem by eating native birds/eggs and bush.
One interesting quote from the day before was from one of the other trampers who said she liked the forest here b/c "none of the trees grow straight," it is true. A lot of the trees were twisted in different angles and formed neat patterns and shapes.
I got to the look out tower, above the bush line, ahead of schedule, but the weather was not the best for spectacular views, though it was nice to see above the bush. I ran into two Israeli's who started the track the same day I did, chatted briefly before heading off .
watch your heads
The journey continued through the bush, but a lot of it was through muddy patches and climbing up/down/in between root systems, it was really fun trying to see where you planted your foot next. As I got closer to the hut I realized that it had its own private beach, seems like all the huts do on Stewart Island.
jumping for joy
After settling in, I went with another tramper to explore the low tide beach and its surrounding rock formations, we discovered many a small private beach. Also they trees/bushes were all facing one direction because of wind weathering, unique.
Another night avoiding sand flies, but this time I played some cards (Taki) with the Israeli's, who I learned had just finished their duties in the army. After a few games we started talking about other tramps we'd like to do and we all wanted to try the Keplar and Routeburn tracks, only my time was limited and they had only just begun their trip. They had tickets to walk the Milford Track, the most popular track in the ENTIRE world, hardest one to get tickets to!
They offered to give me a ride to Te Anau after Stewart Island to see if the Keplar Track was open, sweet as. More backcountry food before writing in my journal by candle light.
The last part of the track was the muddiest, I almost wish I'd of brought gum boots for it. More boardwalk, more bush, not too much of a difference in landscape.
I'm not sure why I went the longer route, but I did (low on water). It was extremely muddy but it was worth it to me in the end b/c I got to see a kaka! To bad the Tui nearby chased it away
Spent the night in Invercargill, and the next day we were off to Queenstown after finding out there were still avalanche warnings in Fiordland for the Keplar and Routeburn tracks.
Until the next post, keep in touch,
Cheers,
Tyler
P.S. Penguins are cool
B/c of the mountain biking and hiking, and b/c Arthur's Pass National Park still had avalanche warnings.
jumping for joy
