Greetings!

Since I started my own blog, I'm afraid that Steve has become very lax about updating this one. For anyone who has too much time on their hands & likes pictures, feel free to check out http://lostinmiddleearch.spaces.live.com/ And, yes, I know I can't spell. It's not like anyone actually reads links.

Take care all,

Nat

Rakiura (aka Stewart Island)

I was able to make it down to the third largest island in NZ last weekend for an extended break to enjoy the wilds on one of the Great Walks. Rakiura is located a 20 minute flight from Invercargill, the bottom of the south island. I was down there for work so I thought I'd make the most of it and spend a few days in the bush and trying to spot some Kiwis in the wild. Stewart Island has a population of 300 people and about 20,000 kiwis, so I thought my chances would be good, but alas no kiwis made an appearance for me.

I flew down Friday after work and arrived in the small village of Oban aka Halfmoon Bay. I registered for the Rakiura Track at the DOC office and then found a small B&B to crash for the night. If you ever make it down to there I would highly recommend Jo & Andy's B&B. They are great people and have a quaint little house which I again stayed at after my hike. Andy is from Boise, Idaho, but has been living on Stewart Island for 28 years. We chatted about the wilds of North America and ice hockey well into the evening.

Saturday morning after an amazing breakfast of porridge, freshly baked bread, and eggs, I was off on my hike. The track is suppose to be 3 days with 2 night spent at huts. The first day suggested time was 4 - 5 hrs. The first part of the track follows the only major road on the island for about an hour following the coast and several bays. The real track starts at Lees Bay where there is the chain link sculpture which is suppose to symbolize the link with the south island as Rakiura in Maori means anchor.

The main track is well maintained, basically a gravel walkway and extremely easy to follow so I arrived at the first hut less than 3 hrs after leaving Oban. I stopped for lunch, but decided that it was a little too short for one day's hike so I took a side track known as the Northwest Circuit to the first hut about 2 hrs further up. The circuit is a 9 -11 day track which loops around the northern part of the island. As my time was limited I hiked up to Bungaree Hut and then back tracked the next day. The trail was a lot more wild and less maintained than the Rakiura Track which allowed for some excellent muddy parts, some knee deep! The hut is located right on the beach in a little bay and was amazing. I was the only one there that night so I had a 20 bunk hut to myself. I was able to find some dry wood for a fire and had a candle light dinner of basil pesto pasta while swatting loads of sandflies. A storm passed during the night and it was the first thunder and lightning I'd seen since arriving in NZ.

The next morning I cooked up some porridge and started back to the main track. The second part of the Rakiura Track was across a inland section of the island through swamps, across rivers and up over a small pass which had a lookout tower at the top. The native forests were beautiful and the variety of birds was amazing. Although no kiwi, I saw a Kaka, a type of parrot, as well as some Tui. I passed one guy who was doing the track in 2 days, but had been rushed leaving Oban and forgot to bring water! He'd been hiking for 7 hrs without a drop so I gave him some of mine. The second hut is called North Arm hut and is located on Patterson Inlet. There were four of us there that night, the thirsty guy and a couple from near Christchurch. The sandflies were even more brutal here and the wood was all soaking wet so as soon as dark hit we headed for bed and the protection of our sleeping bags.

I had an early start the next morning and made it back to Oban around lunch time. The third part of the track was a bit muddier but not too bad. I saw a few white-tailed deer which bounced back into the bush on seeing me.

The weather on Stewart Island can be very unpredictable and it rains 290 days of the year, but I guess I got lucky as it only briefly rained one day and was beautiful the rest of the time. The track was good fun and the people on the island are super friendly and easy going.

So after 4 days it was time to head back to the city and work, but the break was nice and the experience was unforgettable.