Stewart Island - Northwest Circuit

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Hey All,

When we first read about this track we decided against it because it sounded very difficult. That same day we came across a Canadian couple who had just done it in 12 days and said if we had the time we should do it. So on the same day after completeing the Milford we were on our way to Stewart Island.

A little info on Stewart Island. The resident population is 390 and the rest of the island is a national park. Over 3000 hunters come here a year for deer, wild pig, fishing and the occasional possum or wild cat (domestic sized).

For this hike we needed two pieces of equipment that we didn't have. A stove to cook dry food and a good pair of gaiters for the islands notorious amount of mud. We bought both in Invercargill and hopped on the ferry. The ride over was a little rough with 3 meter swells, an hour of that left me a bit nautious. We spent the night at the hostel and headed out in the morning. We arrived at the DOC early in the morning and bought our hut pass, map and locater beacon, as well as a time when the tide would be out on the west side. The Northwest Circuit track is not very popular with only about 1000 trampers a year.

Our first day we made it from downtown Oban to the second hut, Bungaree. Here we met a 54 year old Austlian and two recent Stanford graduates. We all complained about the mud and theorized on how hard the rest of the trail would be. I met a group from Chile who were collecting clams and mussels, they made a great soup out of them with a fire on the beach.

Our 2nd day brought us on a 6 hr hike through undulated country and lots of knee deep mud to Christmas Village hut. When walking to the hut we saw three women get off a boat and made their way down the beach. They were planning on hiking the next few days to meet their husbands/sons who were hunting on the other side. After meeting them I dropped my pack off and climbed Mt Anglum, the highest point on the island (980 meters). I was told by a man in Gore he climed it in 45minutes, now I must be out of shape because it took me 2hrs and 50 minutes to climb that beast!

Day 3 brought us 3 casulaties. THe Austrilan who we were hiking with was complaining of a knee problem, one of the ladies we met the night previous sprained her anckle an hour into the trail and an older lady staying at our hut pulled her back out. Lucklily they didn't have to call in the DOC chopper and were able to call a "water taxi" to take them back to Oban. This was also the day we decided to skip a hut (do a double day) and do a pleasant 10.5 hour walk to the very nothern part of the island. Skipping a hut allowed us a extra day in case of bad weather, as well as extra food need be. This also put us into a new group of trampers, three from Australia, a Canadian girl and a young couple from New Zealand. The hut we were at was called Long Harry and is a favorite because of the view. Unfortunately for us in was pouring and increadibly windy while we were there.

Day 4 brought us to the hut where 5 hunters were staying for a week, East Ruggedy. Upon entering I was immediatly offered smoked venison. They had just got a deer the day before and were kind enough to give us a hind leg that we cut up and made into a stew. I talked guns with them and in the evening all of us trampers went kiwi (NZ's national bird) looking. After much effort and with the sun down Emily spotted one, running through the open to the cover of the brush and then up a sand dune, we finally caught a kiwi! They're quick little birds!

Over the next few days we made our way down the west coast through Mason's Bay and Freshwater huts. We would gain elevation up a hill, into the forest and brush then down to a beach and back up again. Some sections had large sand dunes, others we were warned by the DOC had quick sand that would only go anckle deep. We saw lots of wild life, mostly birds, one deer and when making my way up Rocky Mountain (another side trip) we spotted a Kiwi in full day light. She found us interesting and got within 5 feet, close enough for a great picture! It is a special thing to see one as they are a endangered, flightless bird. We also came across a beached sperm whale. It was a sad sight, but also interesting to see a whale up close.

Our second to last day we bunked with a Frenchman. While cooking rice his stove was leaking A LOT of gas. I would open the door he would close it. When we confronted him about it he said he's never had anyone complain about his stove and proceeded to close the door again "because it was cold". Now I'm all for friendly international relations but not for breathing poisonous gas, I opened all the windows and stood by the door, eventully we got him to cook outside. He was also the loudest snorer I've heard in my life (funny because he was so small). I guess thats where the french put the "hu" in huhuhu!

Our final walk was an easy stroll on boardwalk and into town. For days we had all craved a beer with fish 'n chips. We partied outside and fulfilled our earthly indulgences. By the end we had all become friends, hiking and eating together and playing "Nomination" (a variation of pitch) for hours in the evening.

Twas a great expierence and a challenging hike. When we get up to the North Island we'll contact the hunters we met a maybe spend a couple days on their dairy farm.

Sean

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