Rakiura Track - Stewart Island

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Rakiura Track - Stewart Island (36km - 3 days, 2 nights)

** Apologies for the lack of photos with this entry, it's explained in day 3 **

Rakiura Track - Day 1

This was my second attempt at "tramping" a national past-time here in New Zealand and it didn't disappoint!

I was a lot more relaxed about heading out this time on my over night adventure, possibly a little too relaxed. This tramp would be different thought, for the first time, I had company!

At first the thought of spending long hours climbing hills and possibly being hungry and grumpy with a stranger was a little off putting but once Carmen and I got started, I knew things would be ok.

I had mentioned in the backpackers the day before that I was going to do the track (maybe - nothing is definite when I'm on holiday). Carmen, a fashion designer (not a typical one I must add!) from Germany mentioned that she was interested in doing the track also and would it be possible if we could start together.

We agreed on a general time to leave the hostel and went about packing our bits and pieces for the journey. It always seems to take longer than you expect to pack all you'll need for a few days out in the bush! This tramp would (only) be three days and two nights, but covered a total distance of 36km, 7km of which were on the road.

We set out shortly before mid day after visiting the DOC office, buying hut passes and filling in the intention book. In order to use the huts on the tracks you have to buy a pass which really are a nominal fee (15 dollars, or less than 7 euro for the night). This provides you with shelter for the night and heat, if you can manage to get the fire going - there is usually a good supply of fire wood close to the shelter, if you know how to use an axe!

The intentions book is pretty simple. You state where you are going, when you plan to return, whether you are carrying a mountain radio (mobile phones don't get reception in the wilderness) and when they should start to worry about you (usually they day after you are due to return!). So we were setting out on Friday (31th July) and due back Sunday (2nd August) and they should worry on Monday (3rd) if we don't get back to them to say we got back safely. They don't do things by half around here either. At 8am on the morning of your "worry date" they phone the police and get search and rescue out to find you! We were hoping they would not need to come looking for us!

The first stretch of the track was unfortunately on the road. We had to make our way from half moon bay, at the center of Oban to Lee bay when the national park boundary is. It's approximately 6km, which would take 1hr 15mins. We set out and the sun was shining, but we knew that may not last so we were caped and ready for the rain! In order to avoid some of the boarding road part of the journey we decided to attempt to hitch a lift some of the way. This was a good idea in theory, but soon we realized that everyone was working at this time of the day and the island is so small and most of the roads are dead ends, people are not going very far! We managed to cut about 1km off the road trip by jumping into a "ute" (truck) with a local lad who was toing a car to the dump. We squeezed into the front of his "ute" and were thankful of avoiding at least on hill on the road!

We reached the entrance to the national park and we were faced with a stormy sea but a sunny sky. We also had our first view of the possum proof fence. A fence that is put up around the national park in attempt to prevent possum from entering. It's not very effective, but a start I guess. Possum are a major predator to the local bird life in NZ. They cause havoc by eating eggs and destroying vegetation which is vital habitat for the native birds.

The track reminded me of the Abel Tasman track at the beginning as it wound it's way along the coast giving us occassional views of the shoreline below and the islands which lay off shore. For the first part of the track, the sun was shining. The wind was making a bit of noise, but we were sheltered by the bush for the majority of the walk. We came across a small river mouth (Little River) where we were able to access the beach and walk part of the track along the sand on a low tide route. We took some time to take in the sun and enjoy the scenery. The river was a dark orange color, possibly due to the high peat content of the soil. I had read in a leaflet somewhere that a settler planned to grow strawberries on Stewart Island, but the soil make up was not suitable.

There were a few notable bridges on this track. One swing bridge as far as I remember which we took some pleasure in playing on for some time, but it was slightly exposed and the weather was starting to change, so we opted for the shelter of the bush!

We made our way to Maori beach for lunch. At this point there is a shelter and a campsite. These locations are very useful for lunching on a wet day. By the time we reached the halfway point the weather had changed drastically, luckily we could see it coming and were able to put on our waterproof layers which had been removed as we warmed up climbing in the sun. The shelter consisted of a small half open stand (two walls) under which there was a steel counter a sink and a halfmoon shaped seat. There was evidence of some fires and a large bone, which looked like a whale vertebrae (from my in dept knowledge of marine anatomy!!). There was also a lovely collection of the prettiest shells, but I had learned from the last experience not to collect any! We munched on our sandwiches and random collections of dried fruit and nuts before venturing along the beach between breaks in the weather. As soon as we were out on the sand the wind picked up and the rain pelted down on us. I was in shorts at this stage and the rain and sand stung my legs as it was whipped towards us by the strong winds. It was a little painful at the start but then it was enjoyable! It was us against what ever the weather could throw at us! We put our heads down and continued until finally we reached a bridge across the creek at the end of the beach and into the shelter of the forest again.

The track brought us up and down, over hills and crests. At this point I was tired and really looking forward to reaching Port William hut. I think Carmen was feeling it also saying that she would eat well tonight to have extra energy for tomorrow. It is interesting, if you haven't walked with a pack with any considerable weight on your back before it really does take some getting used to and makes you feel very slow and sluggish at the beginning. We both knew tomorrow was going to be tougher with a 6 hour walk and a 300m ascent to the summit. But we had to get today over with first! Finally we reached a small beach with gray colored sand. It was quite strange, but we were glad to be there. Port William beach and warf greeted us well and just in time too. We were only settling into the hut when the weather really kicked off, a big storm was brewing outside with sheets of rain being push about by the wind before our eyes.

Thankfully at this point we had a few hours of light left to sort the fire and find our way around the hut before night fell and the candles would be needed. The weather really turned nasty at this point and we were getting cold. It took a solid hour of very tender care of a small flame to get any sort of a fire going. Both Carmen and myself were tired of huffing and puffing in an attempt to get the damp wood burning. I was a little angry when we arrived in the hut. The common eticuit as i had learned on my final night on the Abel Tasman is to bring in food and freshly split kindling when your fire is burning so it is dry for the next person who arrives and needs to start a fire. Who ever had left before us appeared to have simply gathered some wet pieces of bark and wood which were lying on the ground around the wood shed outside and it was impossible to even attempt to start a fire using these. I was slightly out raged!

Soon after we got the fire started a french couple with impressive dread locks arrived at the hut. That's one thing I do like about the huts, you never know who's on the track behind or in front of you, you may be alone in the hut, or you may not. They were an interesting couple who reminded me of two friends (Gary and Joe) at home. The French couple spend their lives on the move, working only the required amount of months per year (not more than 6!) to allow them to live their nomadic lifestyle, outside the boundaries of social expectations. They have no fixed abode, living in their vans during the summer and usually working as ski instructors during the winter. I was told that it is becoming more and more difficult for them to live like this, as the government is preventing them from setting up a mail box so they can receive post. Their way of life is being threatened. I sat listening to them and answering some of the in dept questions about life in Ireland as well as I could. It's only when people start asking you questions that you realize how little you know about your own country. The conversation revolved a lot around culture and religion and the role of music in traditional Irish life. It made me feel slightly ashamed that I didn't play an instrument and would like to learn something basic on the tin whistle when i get home. I thought about their way of life, working when needed, doing what ever seasonal work was needed, fruit picking, mussel farming etc, then saving up and seeing some of the world for a few months. No bills, no mortgages, no worries, or so I thought. I asked them if they had an worries, as I figured most of the worries I have relate to social expectations which they definitely don't conform to. I didn't catch their names, but the guy who was slightly more talkative explained that he worries that there will be no part of the world left untouched. He worried that humans, who he explained are the pest in the world (not rats or possums) destroy everything they come across. Afterward when I thought about it I, maybe being free from the everyday worries that we face due to the society we live in prevents us from thinking about the larger issues. Issues which are more important, which need attention, not our silly little grievances about material issues. I was in awe of this french couple, and could have stayed up all night chatting to them over candle light as they waited for their dinner to cook on the fire. They didn't believe in carrying gas stoves - brave!

I went about my final evening routine and visited the toilet. The toilets on this great walk are slightly different to those I experienced before. Not as luxorious, the "long drop" toilets look like a portaloo from the outside and inside, until you lift the toilet seat and realise that the toilet is simply suspended over a large hole in the ground. A notice on the wall informs you that these toilets work best when the lid is kept down, and you realize this as soon as you take a seat! It's quite a speedy operation- where you must supply your own paper! Something I sadly overlooked in my slightly relaxed packing!

Returning to the hut, a cloud passed and the darkness was illuminated by lovely silver light of the moon. I took a wander down to the beach, in the hope that I might possible spot one of the enigmatic kiwi birds. Not tonight! I slept very well that night, knowing we had a tough day coming!

Rakiura Track - Day 2
I was last out of the cot this morning, but surprisingly your body knows the time without you ever having to think about it. I filled up on porridge the only thing I can find that fills me for more than a few hours in the morning, especially when tramping! Packed up and photos taken Carmen and I departed Port William hut. Today the weather actually behaved itself and although we were walking in the bush for a large part of the day, we could feel the sun in breaks in the thick vegetation! The first part of the track involved a 45 minute back track to a junction we had reached the previous day. We were walking this shortest of 3 walks on the island, the other two are extremely challenging and involved multiple days (up to 11 days!). Maybe some day I'll return and complete them - in the summer!

The track today was primarily boardwalk. This is the term they use for a supported wooden platform which helps to keep you out of the much and streams which run through the bush. The only problem is that it's approximately a foot wide which means it requires a considerable amount of concentration to make sure your feet always land on the walkway. The track consisted of 100's possibly 1000's of steps. We both knew today would involve a 300m ascent, but it seemed like we were constantly climbing and descending and unlike walks at home, we had no idea if we were anywhere near the summit as you can see nothing through the dense vegetation.

After about an hour and a half walking I needed food so suggested a snack stop. We found a piece of the path where the sun had made it's way through and sat down on our packs to enjoy some nibbles. I can't tramp when I'm hungry, my concentration goes and all I can think about is my tummy! We both got cold pretty quickly so we pushed on fairly sharply. We started getting into languages, I would correct a mistake in Carmens English - something simple like behind instead of under - we saw the funny side to it and she would teach me some German - important tramping words like hill, mountain, the sea, the sun and trees - none of which I'm even going to attempt to spell! Then we started counting the steps in as many languages and we could remember, anything to help the journey pass.

When we were exhausted and needed a break from the constant climbing we would usually stop to "listen to the birds". Either that or our exhaustion was well timed with the twittering Tui, and fluttering Tomtit.

A few points a long the way I noticed some footprints. The majority of the prints in the forest were clearly days or weeks old, with blurred patterns. There were a few sets of deer foot prints, which I was expecting as I had heard there was some hunting in the area. There was one set of fresh human foot prints which I estimated were about the same size as mine. I wondered if there was someone on the trail ahead of us. We had met Sebastien, a Swiss chap who had mentioned he might do the track in two days, and walk the first section (which we were doing in two days) all in one day. I thought it would be a bit of a strech, for me anyway! It turned out that the prints ahead of us were indeed Seb's and he had left Halfmoon Bay early that morning and was about 1 hour in front of us.

We soldiered on and finally reached the lookout point, which was worth the uphill battle. At the summit there was a small mental tower with 13 steep steps leading to the top, one person allowed at a time! The views of the southern part of the island were a real treat. We chilled out at the bottom of the tower while we had some lunch again departing before we got cold.

The final stretch of the track to North Arm hut was similar to the morning, boardwalk mainly and some root climbing. By the end of the day we had become very friendly with "stewart island mud" and our boots and shoes were well covered. I had decided to tramp kiwi style that day in shorts and gaiters, so I looked the park and my feet stayed dry and my legs clean. At our first view of the hut we could see someone outside chopping fire wood - inside i hoped they already had the fire going so we wouldn't have the same agony as the previous night. It wasn't until we reached the hut that we recognised Sebastian. We took a wander down to the bay, which wasn't very sandy and then finally got a chance to take our shoes off and packs off. It had been a tough day and my knees were giving out! I was very grateful of my tramping boots, which I had originally thought were too stiff, but they were really protecting my dodgy feet so no complaints at all!

I left Seb and Carmen to sort out the fire, too many cooks and all that. On the third attempt they got it started and I got the jug on for a hot drink. We huddled around the stove for most of the night trying to mop up any heat which it was providing. The grassy area around the hut seemed to be a passing ground for local animals. On a venture out to the loo I met a possum having a pooch about. Then later on Seb was making a similar stop and he saw a kiwi! He immediately ran in to tell us and we grabbed our footwear and torches in a rushed fumble and ran out to see for ourselves. By that time, after all that noise the kiwi had ran/hopped off into the bush and was making a very high pitched squealing noise. It was a little scary to be honest. We followed it into the bush, but didn't get very far. It was dark and even with the light of the torches not easy to see where we were going. We hid in the bush listening to some strange noises for a few minutes but were not treated to the sight again. We decided after dinner was finished we would venture out again to try and see them.

Again we crawled out of the hut, along the beach and along the edge of the forest. The moon was really illuminating the ground so we hardly needed our torches to see movements in the shadows. We took a seat on a rock on the beach, and waited in silence - listening and hoping. A possum walked right up to us in the dark and made me jump! We didn't even see him coming! Maybe kiwi wouldn't be seen tonight. We retired to the decking of the hut and took it in turns to be on kiwi watch, but alas we saw no more. Well technically I haven't seen one yet, but I'm hoping with my trip to Masons Bay planned for tomorrow I will see a few there.

We had a nice evening huddled up to the fire chatting about each others backgrounds and travel plans. It was a good mix of personalities and we got on well together. Sleep time came soon - my down sleeping bag was calling me!

Rakiura Track - Day 3
The morning routine stated slowly. After tea, porridge, muesli and coffee we packed up and cleaned up any evidence of ourselves from the hut. Again it's expected that you wipe down benches, sweep the floor and lift the mattresses when you are leaving. I had also spend about 30 minutes the evening before chopping kindling for the next people to arrive in the hut. I did almost remove part of my leg swinging an axe wildly! I left the kindling under the stove to dry so the new arrivals, hopefully won't have too many issues starting a fire. Hopefully karma will reward me with a similar stack of kindling when i reach masons bay - i'm also considering packing a small quantity of fire lighters as I fear i'll be on my own and without the heat from a fire, it'll be a long few nights!

Disaster struck when we attempted a group photograph. We set up our cameras on one of the benches inside the hut and played about with timers so we could all be in the picture. After the first attempt I picked up my camera to view the photo and clumsy me dropped it. It took a nasty hope on the floor and when i attempted to turn it on it made some strange clicking noise and the lens wouldn't retract. Therefore i must apologies for the lack of pictures for this blog entry at the moment. Even when attached to a computer, i can't access the pictures, so they will have to wait. I decided it wasn't worth agonizing over, as i was in the wild and wonderful strwart island bush and shouldn't have silly things like broken cameras on my mind. I'll buy another when i get to some sort of a populated area. I'm sure i'll be tagged in either Sebs or Carmens photos on FB at some stage for you all to laugh at!

When we ventured out on the track the weather was pretty dismal. It made little difference to us under the cover of the bush, except that we would get cold if we stopped. I opted for my waterproof pants and gaiters - an interesting look, but it worked for me! I must admit I was a little warm at times! We tramped along the path, which was a mix of muck and board walk for the early part of the day but changed to track later on. We took it in turns to lead the assalt, but I always ended up over taking the other two as they were forced to pick their way through the mud with their walking shoes. I opted for the "straight through tramping" I had read about and was thoroughly filthy to the knees by the end of the day - but i'd say i walked at least 1km less than the other two with their bush filled detours!

After about 1 hours walking we reached sawdust bay where there was a shelter. I suggested that we have our main stop here, even though we'd only be walking an hour as it provided us with cover from the rain and a seat. After enjoying our nibbles we tramped along towards home. The track times usually over estimate the journey quite significantly, so we were knocking hours off here and there. Maybe this was to try to persuade ourselves that there really wasn't 3.5hours of walking left!

We took a few minutes to stop and take photos of a strikingly clear rainbow at Kaipipi bay. The tide was quite high and the sun was just about to come out. We also came across a small bridge which crossed the mouth of a river. Only one side of the bridge had a railing, which is common here. I think it gives you a more rugged feel. I sat down and dangled my feet off the edge and then lay down for a wee rest on the bridge, Carmen took some lovely photos of the keeled over tramper. I could really feel yesterdays climbing in my calf's today - if only Lynne were here to give me a good massage!

Eventually we came across a sign for halfmoon bay, our final destination. Dissapointingly the sign informed us we had still 50 minutes to walk, but we figured it was about half this! On the road I got a new burst of energy and powered along the tarmac. Soon we came across houses and signposts, even cars! It was strange to be back in civilization again. Wandering along the road I was trying to figure out what part of the town we might arrive into when all of a sudden we recognized where we were. Conviently we arrived in next to the DOC office where we needed to drop in our intentions slips to let them know we had returned safely and not to send a search party out to find us!

The plan for the evening was pretty simple, shower, sit down, wash clothes and eat. This would be no regular meal though - we had decided to treat ourselves to take away fish and chips from the hotel which were reputed to serve giant portions! The thought of this had kept me going all day!

After a long and well earned shower we collected our feed and tucked in. There was simply too much food as I had been told my Maria, a previous island explorer. After the feed we ventured down to the put to take part in the weekly pub quiz. They place was actually quite busy, as there is a fishing competition on for the next few days. Along with a Belgian couple who were also staying at the hostel we formed "Team Bunkers" and attempted to answer the difficult questions. Our European knowledge was quite poor! we did well on the disney character picture round! Suffice to say we didn't win the 40 dollar bar tab, but we didn't finish last, which was important!

The evening was rounded up with playing pool, drinking Baileys and chatting with the locals who are indeed a very friendly bunch!

From here on...
The plan for the next few days is to head for Masons Bay. To do this i'm going to get an expensive water taxi to Fresh Water hut and walk the 4 hours along the river to the coast. The bay is renowned for it's large sand dunes - sahara style and it's large kiwi population. I'm going to spend 3 nights at the mason hut, and use it as a base for my explorations. I haven't done this before, and I'm looking forward to it as I'll get to leave the majority of my food, clothing etc at the hut and tramp with a light pack.

I thought I would be camera-less for this adventure, but after mentioning my problem to Liz (who runs the backpackers where I'm staying) she has kindly given me the lend of one she has. Maybe i'll come back with some nice pictures of sand dunes and maybe, if I'm luck a kiwi photo too 😊

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Photos

The start
After our lift with the local

Then there were 3
This was taken just before my camera took a hop..