Stranded in Stweart Island

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The boat over to Stewart Island was more like a roller coaster than a boat, my stomach did more flips on that 1 hour journey than in any theme park I have visited. The waves were huges & showed the power of the sea. I think everyone was relieved to get there but it was a wet afternoon to explore the island. I went for a few walks but got battered by the wind blowing the rain into me so I got soaked. No one wanted a big night because they knew that they had to face the ferry the next morning, which is not good if you are hungover.

However the next morning, the wind was still blowing & it was still raining. No ferries or planes left the Island on Friday so we had to stay on the island. Luckily our hostel had some large puzzles, which kept us occupied most of the day. Steve, our wonderful chef, cooked lasagne in the evening, which was delicious. By the evening it had stopped raining so I went for a walk by the beach & the wharf to see how it would be in good weather. I was almost tempted to stay longer just to explore the island without the rain.

Yesterday the boat did leave the island, delayed by the tides, but we made it back to Bluff. From there we made tracks to Te Anau for lunch at a fabulous bakery before heading to Milford Sound. Our driver managed to get us there just in time for a our cruise but at one point we did actually back into another car!! Oops!!

The cruise was amazing & the scenery is stunning in that part of the world. The mountains rise straight up from the edge of the water. It was a good day to visit because there was glorious sunshine so if we had been there the day before we would have got the rain so it was beneficial to be stuck in Stewart Island for the day. After the cruise we made it back to Queenstown after a long day on the bus. My stomach was growling so I went for the famous Fergburger & tried a different one to last time. Now I have 3 days in Queenstown.

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