Day 5: Catlins to Stewart Island

25 November 2020

We get up at 6.00am today to a very chilly morning but we just load up the bus and head into Invercargill for breakfast. This should give us enough time to make it through to Bluff in time for our ferry to Stewart Island.

On the first part of our journey the road is very windy but once we leave the Catlins we are back to the wide Southland plains and the ever present agriculture. As we get nearer to Invercargill we see other industry appear as well: felled timber forests and of course the Tiwai Point Aluminium smelter.

The weather gods are really looking out for us again and it is an absolutely magnificent day with cloudless blue skies and we can see across to Stewart Island.

We have breakfast at a very nice Invercargill restaurant called The Batch Cafe (breakfast was included in our trip) – I enjoyed the pancakes and a nice pot of tea. We can’t linger too long though as we have a ferry to catch.

Bluff is famous for its oysters and is definitely a port town. It sits on the Foveaux Straight which is one of the roughest stretches of water in NZ. Today it is almost millpond calm – for which I am very grateful (although I take my seasick tablets anyway). Our hour long ferry trip turned out to be hugely entertaining as there is a film crew and a cast of actors on board filming something for tourism that they aren’t allowed to talk about but we suspect it must be a longer show or video rather than a TV ad as we were originally told.

We were asked if we were okay to sign a waiver if we appeared in the filming. Anjuka and I ended up having a more ‘significant’ part as one of the actors sat next to us and next minute the film crew were there filming our interactions (which admittedly were very funny as he was a real ‘show pony’). He said that they were spending several months filming and they didn’t know what they were doing from day to day. There were quite a large cast dotted around the ferry having their every move filmed.

Once we arrive in the township of Oban in Halfmoon Bay, we retrieve our bags and walk the 200m to the South Seas Hotel that is the hub of the town and our accommodation for the next 2 nights. We can’t check in yet but are able to leave our bags and explore the small township before we catch a bus that takes us for a 1.5 hour orientation tour of the very limited road network. 3% of the island is in private ownership, 6% held by local Maori and the rest makes up the Rakiura National Park.

Our very able guide and driver Laura shows us the magnificent views of horseshoe shaped golden sand beaches, and views up the Patterson Inlet including the southern most house in NZ. We visit Golden Bay, Halfmoon Bay, Horseshoe Bay, Bathers Beach and Lee Bay (and others). I keep getting them muddled up but learn that it doesn’t really matter much. Originally Oban was in Horseshoe Bay but the map-makers mixed it up with Halfmoon Bay and rather than fixing it, the pragmatic Stewart Islanders just swapped the names around.

Lee Bay is the site of Maui’s chain (the other half being in Invercargill). Maori creation stories tell how Maui, a legendary Polynesian voyager, pulled up from the sea floor the anchor stone Te Puka a Maui (Stewart Island/Rakiura) to act as an anchor for the great ancestral canoe Te Waka o Aoraki (South Island of NZ).

The weather is absolutely spectacular and so clear that even Laura is surprised by being able to see more islands and even parts of the South Island that she hasn’t seen before.

There are 402 residents on Stewart Island, 403 when Laura is staying there. The population has decreased significantly since the fishing quota system was put in place, drastically reducing the fishing fleet. Now the primary source of revenue is through tourism, and the last 2 months have been the best they have EVER had. Laura has come over to help out.

The small community is very stretched in trying to cope with the tourist boom, both in providing accommodation but also enough people to look after everyone. It is not unusual to have someone sell you a ticket at the information centre then be serving you dinner later on and even perhaps be your tour guide the next day.

We hear more about life on the island: there is an ambulance but no doctor or hospital, 2 registered nurses cater to all their needs. There is just one policeman (who is never really off duty but thankfully nothing much actually happens for him to deal with).

Although most people are environmentally conscious, they still rely on diesel generators for their power and have been evaluating all the various options. It isn’t sunny enough to rely on solar power, hydro isn’t feasible, wind turbines aren’t a popular option because of the visual pollution, and it seems like putting an electric cable across Foveaux Strait might be the best option.

Most people grow as much of their own vegetables as possible and tunnel houses can be seen everywhere. The environmental concerns can also create tensions especially around 1080 poison drops to control pest species and also whether or not people should have pet cats.

Back at the South Sea Hotel we are shown our rooms and I am absolutely delighted to have a prime view out to the bay (although perhaps being above the bar may be a problem later). Several of us are torn between having a bit of down time and making the most of the weather. Down time is important because we are going Kiwi Spotting tonight and it will be a long night. In the end I decide I am happy to sit and admire the view for a while.

We were anticipating dining in the hotel tonight but it seems that our booking has been tossed out in favour of the film crew who are also filming a quiz night that we turn down the opportunity to be part of. We go to the Kai Kart, the fish and chip place just round the corner, and discover that it is extremely popular. Thankfully it is a beautiful evening and we sit on the grass in the sunshine waiting for our orders and then while we eat them. Most people have ordered Blue Cod and chips.

After that we return to the hotel for a few drinks on the terrace while we wait for it to get dark enough for us to head out kiwi spotting. Si tells us some more legends of Stewart Island, particularly the meaning of its Maori name Rakiura. It is now popularly promoted as meaning ‘Glowing Skies’ with reference to beautiful sunrises, sunsets and the Southern Lights.

However in Maori legend is better translated as “blushing cheeks” or “The great and deep blushing of Te Rakitamau” an early Maori Chief. Te Rakitamau left his home to ask a high ranking Kati Mamoe family for the hand in marriage of the elder of his two daughters. To his embarrassment he blushed terribly when he was turned down. Te Raki Tamau then asked for the hand of the second daughter, but she too was already betrothed. It is said that the red skies of Stewart Island reflect the blushing embarrassment of Te Rakitamau.

At 10.15pm we meet our guides at Beaks & Feathers who take us up to the airstrip to look for kiwi. The moon is still quite full and it is very light and starlit also, so we are warned that the kiwi may not come out until later than usual. We are all given torches with red filters but we don’t need to use them – just leaving our guides to use theirs to scan the grass at the edges of the airstrip for the rounded shapes of kiwi bottoms.

We walk the length of the airstrip and most of the way back before any kiwi are spotted. We have 2 cameramen with us as well, checking out the lighting for filming tomorrow night and also getting in some sneaky footage in case none are seen tomorrow. They have night vision on their cameras and report seeing a couple of kiwi in the bushes (but they are too hidden for us to see).

Eventually a small male kiwi comes out and doesn’t seem in the least bit bothered by us being close by and illuminating his evening activities. We spend a long time watching his feeding antics. This is a Stewart Island southern brown kiwi and they are able to identify it as a male because they are much smaller than the females and have a shorter beak. It is estimated that there are up to 20,000 kiwi on Stewart Island. We only see the one kiwi but most are happy to head back to the hotel around midnight.

Video: young male kiwi feeding

 

Join me over the next few days to find out more about my adventures:

Day 1 New Zealand Southern Loop

Day 2 Queenstown to Te Anau

Day 3 Milford Sound

Day 4 Te Anau to the Catlins

Day 5 Catlins to Stewart Island

Day 6 Stewart Island

Day 7 Southern Coast

Day 8 Invercargill