Stewart and Ulva Islands

I had been hankering for a solo trip for a while (nothing against Lisa, see Kaimanawa Forest Park post/ Day 70) and had been looking into a three day adventure in the south part of of the south island. I hadn’t found anything that got me excited, until the day we went to Milford Sound I woke up with an idea. I was going to take the car, head down to Bluff, take the ferry to Stewart Island, and hike for three days, while Lisa would continue on with her parents from Milford Sound to or next planned destination, Dunedin.

There was a giant problem with my plan, Lisa would hate me, because even though we had decided going to Stewart Island just was not that feasible, she still really wanted to go. Which is pretty much how it went down, or at least she just threatened to hate me, especially if I were to see either a penguin, or a kiwi in the wild. I told Lisa that she should just come with me and abandon her parents in this strange foreign land for a few days. She was about to tell me off, as she was excited to hang out with here parents for the first time in almost a year, when her mom interjected with: “yeah, you should go with Keegan, you will have fun, and so will we”. Problem solved, thanks Elizabeth.

The next morning, Lisa and I were off to catch a ferry some +3 hours south of Milford Sound. The weather was great and the water was smooth as glass, which according to the staff was very rare. The ferry took just over an hour, and was foggy and uneventful. Stewart Island however is a different story. Stewart Island is the 3rd largest inhabited island in New Zealand, which isn’t really saying that much, as it only has about 10km of road and around 500 permanent residence, most in the quaint and green town of Oban (where the ferry lands). Its quirky, and reminds me of a small east coast Canadian town.

Most of the island is a mountainous forested mud-fest with very few marked hiking trails passing through the interior. We didn’t stay in Oban long enough to enjoy the small pubs and brightly colored houses of Oban lining the rocky coast because we had 18 km of potentially super muddy hiking ahead of us with only 5 hours of sunlight. Or plan was to hike a 3 day out an back on one of the three marked trails on the island, The North West Circuit, a 10 day 125 km trail travelling the Northernmost coast line of the island. We would start just outside Oban and hike to the Bungeree Hut, stay two nights, and hike back.

The hiking was beautiful and wasn’t that muddy, although very undulating. The track past through lush ferns, winding through giant 3+ m wide rimu trees (coniferous native to NZ), and occasionally peaking out of the forest for panoramic views of the deserted beaches and the ocean. We reached the Bungaree Hut with enough time to drink a wine and enjoy the setting sun next to a golden sandy beach.

The next day Lisa and I continued onward down the North Western Circuit to Murray Beach, a 2 km long picturesque beach that we were all but guaranteed to have to ourselves. We spent the afternoon playing in the sand, and visiting with a father son duo of hunters camped out in the area. This was a really interesting experience because we really got the lay of the land on hunting from them. They explained to us the highs and lows of the manufactured hobby of hunting in NZ. I say manufactured because it literally is. Kiwis (people of NZ, I talk about the birds in this post too) hunt wild bore, beer, and feral goats, which were introduced for the sole purpose of hunting. While the Department of Conservation tries so hard to eradicate them, as they are considered pests (completely destructive to native plants and there inhabitants), hunters have (self) managed to keep and maintain a small population of deer. Other pests are a different story, they are just very invasive to the point of being unmanageable. No hunting tags are necessary, and any deer even fauns are fair game, which is pretty different from back home. The two hunters were very friendly, and we ended up chatting whit them for over 2 hours.

The next day, we hiked the 18 km back into Oban, grabbed a room in the hostel, dumped our bags and ran off to catch another ferry to the uninhabited Ulva Island just off the coast of Stewart Island. Ulva Island is renowned as a pest-free bird sanctuary. Now would be a good time to mention that pretty much all awesome native birds in NZ like the kiwi, kea (mountain parrot), kaka (another cool parrot) and the kakariki (cockatoo) are going extinct, thanks to introduced pests like deer, rats, possums, and stotes. So a pest-free island meant our best opportunity to see rare native birds like the kiwi (they are actually diurnal on Ulva so we don’t have to trouble ourselves with loosing sleep), kaka, and kakariki. There are about 6 km of hiking trails on the island meandering through native rimu and fern forests, of which we hiked most of them. Although we never saw a kiwi, we did see several friendly kakas and a kakariki. I think i can say we have become shameless birders in New Zealand.

That evening we went to a pub on the wharf for a few drinks, fish and chips, and a burger to sooth or bodies from 24 km of walking. The pub was old, authentic, full of locals, and had really cheap beer (like the cheapest beer we ever found at a drinking establishment in NZ), so we had a great time. We slept well that night. The next day we woke up early to catch a ferry back to the South Island. The morning was beautiful and we got to watch the sun rise over the boat-filled harbour. While waiting to board the ferry a 10 ft (best guess) long seven gill shark swam under the dock, which was pretty sweet. Once again the strait separating the South Island and Stewart Island was calm, making for smooth sailing.

We had heard mixed things about Stewart Island. Some said its an epic untamed place which will make you feel as immersed in nature as any place in NZ. Others said take it or leave it, its cold, rains a lot, and their isn’t much to do. Lisa and took the opinion of the former having really enjoyed every part. It was authentic, and wasn’t tourist filled like so many other places in NZ. Oh, we were also incredibly lucky with the weather, which would definitely make all all the difference in the world, and so do rare bird sightings.Læs mere