Blogs from Stewart Island, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 3

Voor degenen die graag nog wat foto's willen zien heb ik fotos toegevoegd in het zelfde google album: http://picasaweb.google.nl/Ivo.is.niet.thuis/IvoIsNietThuisMaarInNieuwZeeland?feat=directlink 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!... read more

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 swear! Things 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 make some pasta to go with it. Anyway, I was chatting to the fishermen, who were their for a 2 day competition and the waitress from the hotel arrived in with my little bag of hot fish. The fisherman realised I was there to get some food and offered me a free ticket to the HUGE buffet that was ... read more

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 native birds including weka, the stewart island robin, Kaka, Karakiki, Saddleback, Riflemen etc. I decided to visit sydney bay to start and had my first encounter with weka. I took a wander down the sand, and found some foot prints. I was too busy taking pictures of the prints that I almost missed the weka poking about in the sea weed! He was ... read more

(N) By the start of July, we had both stopped working, as our visas had expired. We spent the first day of the month cleaning and packing up the flat into boxes, throwing some warm clothes into a couple of smaller cases because the next morning was my birthday and we were flying down to Christchurch to start on the 2nd part of our South Island trip. You know you’re getting old when…the first birthday present you open from your partner is a tube of ‘deep wrinkle corrector’…! Fortunately the presents got better from there, and I am now looking forward to a snowboarding lesson when we are further south. Also to celebrate, we upgraded from a hostel for the night and stayed in the futuristic Hotel So, with its capsule-style feel and mood lighting, and ... read more

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 looking out the large windows to see which way the clouds are traveling then deciding for a short walk along the beach or maybe through the forest. I am really enjoying all this relaxation that I have found. Sunday was a big night here in Oban because Monday was a holiday. Sunday nights most of the community and tourists gather at the ... read more