http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , South Island , Stewart Island en-us Sat, 12 Dec 09 02:04:10 +0000 Sat, 12 Dec 09 02:04:10 +0000 Voor degenen die graag nog wat foto's willen zien heb ik fotos toegevoegd in het zelfde google albumhttppicasaweb.google.nlIvo.is.niet.thuisIvoIsNietThuisMaarInNieuwZeelandfeatdirectlink Ik hoop dat jullie ze mooi vinden zo niet nodig ik jullie van harte uit om zelf een keer hierheen te komen en me te verbeteren http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-428600.html With a slightly sore head after a few too many bulmers last night I made my way down to the warf pier this morning to head out searching for oysters with Jack and his crew for the day. It was a beautiful morning with the sun casting lovely colors over halfmoon bay. I popped down to the warf and wandered about for a few minutes before the boat the Nikita arrived. I noticed a crate of Speights http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-426421.html I'm back after 4 days in the wilderness chocolate in one hand and coffee in the other as I write this..it's a juggling act I swearThings didn't really start according to plan on Tuesday morning. Monday night was a nice surprise though I decided to treat myself to some take away from the pub and ended up chatting to some friendly fishermen as I was waiting on my cod to be cooked. I was going to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-426096.html 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 1This was my second attempt at tramping a national pasttime here in New Zealand and it didn't disappointI was a lot more relaxed about heading out this time on my over night adventure possibly a little too relaxed. This tramp would be diff http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-424634.html Jumped on a water taxi for the short trip over to Ulva Island another refuge island where native birds are protected and wildlife is flourishing. Got chatting to Kevin from the US on the warf pier at Golden Bay which was a little further from Halfmoon Bay than I thought. Thankfully things don't run on time like they do on the mainland The majority of the island is a reserve home to numerous http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-423821.html So after spending a nice relaxing day in Queenstown it was time to head south. I almost missed the bus not like me to be late Got chatting to the bus driver Max which helped the trip pass. At one point I was drifting off and realized that the scenery was far too beautiful to nod off next to. The beautiful lakes and mountains leaving Q'town are really fantastic Soon we were out on the plains an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-423014.html Before I start an apology to subscribers to my blog. I've just published about 11 entries which means your inbox has just been clogged up. I've already lost one of you from the ranks because of it and I like to look after my subscribers so sorry about that folks. If you're reading this and aren't a subscriber why not And now to the main course.Do you remember back in Uruguay when I went http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-422495.html Originally I was to spend two maybe three days on Stewart Island then return back to the mainland. How much time would one person need to see such a small island considering that no multi day hikes were to be taken Well I can't answer that question but today makes it one full week since my arrival and my forecast predicts another day or two. The peacefulness of waking up in the morning and lookin http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-404757.html 2 12 hours on a mini bus from Queenstown to Invercargill. Then a 4 hour wait then a half hour bus to Bluff then a one hour ferry ride to reach Stewart Island. I lucked out the water was calm I hear it is rough a lot of the time so the ferry ride in the sunset was great. When we pulled into the dock it was dark there was two buildings that had lights on and a few street lights. I asked where http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-403442.html Day 10Since Queenstown is the adrenaline rush capital of New Zealand and probably the world we figured wersquod do something exciting. Last I was here was when I first went bungee jumping but I thought Irsquod switch up the activity this time around so we went sledging. I know Irsquove never heard of sledging either. So basically this sport is pretty much done only in this one river http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-402571.html Stewart Island 14th 18th March 2009Stewart Island is very remote and beautiful. We visited Ulva island which is a pestfree island don't know how Rob was allowed on there where the birdlife is prolific. We caught a water taxi there and spent over 4 hours walking around watching the birds and enjoying the beaches. The next day we went kayaking along the Paterson Inlet just the two http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-383453.html Sunday 15th March Drove down to Invercargill went up the Water Tower only open on Sunday afternoons Lyn overcame her fear of heights by looking through the cracks in the floor Onwards to Bluff the oldest European settlement in NZ ready to catch the morning catamaran to Stewart Island.Monday 16th March Weather very foggy so couldnrsquot see much on the 1 hour trip over to the is http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-382977.html Hey AllWhen 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 islan http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-374077.html STEWART ISLAND Am Morgen in Bluff bevor wir auf die Fhre gingen habe ich diesen Kahn abgelichtet. Auch aber nur weil uns ein Hafenwrter dort erzhlt hat also ehrlich gesagt er hatte gefragt ob wir Passagiere dieses Schiffes seien... dass dieser um den Sdpol gehe. Luxusklasse all included versteht sich Ne ne haben wir gesagt wir werden nur nach Stewart Island fahren und dort auf Luxus v http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-370489.html Some people don't like flying call me a glutton for punishment but I actually enjoy it. Despite the highly intensified hurry up and wait atmosphere I find it offers a respite from our daily lives. Looking around the roles of the people surrounding me become clear almost like a play where everyone must wear their proper costume. You see the business travelers dressed in suits with black br http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-370248.html So having wuite considerably done the crazy ass extreme stuff it was on to the sotuhern loop again with the stray bus... new groups new chats ol faces from other buses an general relaxation an good timesHeadeds off for the Milfprd Sound bit via places that loked just like Wanaka a BEAUTIFUL Lakeside town that was before Queenstown... The scenery here is just amazing Its very like the rock http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-347689.html Stewart IslandNovember 19 2008We left Invercargill at 8 to drive the 30 minutes to the southernmost point of the South Island to the town of Bluff where we were to board the fast catamaran ferry to Stewart Island. We were early so we hung out in a caf owned by a lady from Buffalo NY. She ended up in NZ after a divorce. She had quite a story to tell and we were good listeners. The ferry ride http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-347422.html After a casual start to the day we arrived at Invercargill headed for the Information centre to find out about a trip to Stewart Island and more specifically Ulva Island bird sanctuary. We ran into a few problems but I wonrsquot bore you with the details.As night closed in and so did the weather we headed west along the coast out of the city to find some parking for the night. As the rain came http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-346388.html We decided to spend a few days on Stewart Island at the most southernly point of New Zealand. This is pretty much as far away from Ireland that you can get http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/Rakiura-National-Park/blog-344910.html ... So sang Paul Brady and I'll get to the island in a minute but first to Queenstown a mecca for outdoorsy types who not satisfied with the lush forests yellow beaches thundering surf clear lakes abundent wildlife and lofty mountains wish to throw themselves off a cliff out of a plane down a river. Whatever way you wish to challenge your inner sense of selfpreservation they can arrang http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Stewart-Island/blog-268057.html