Stewart Island a must for hardy travellers

Last updated 00:00 22/10/2007

Relevant offers

The beaches are sandy and inviting and the sun glints off crystal-azure waters alongside lush green rainforest.

It could be a tropical paradise save for one thing, it is freezing cold.

Only about 380 hardy souls live on Stewart Island, among the world's most southerly inhabited islands.

Oban, the island's only township, is a place where many men sport flowing unkempt beards and almost everyone is known by a nickname.

An old photo in the local pub shows what I instinctively knew – the town has barely changed in more than 100 years.

The one-hour ferry ride across from Bluff on New Zealand's south island can be rough, and the 10-seater plane trip is not much better – rain dripped on to cramped passengers from the ceiling during my flight.

Although only a small number of people live permanently on the island, putting up with biting-cold winds and winters that see only 8.5 hours of sunlight per day, international tourists are beginning to discover why the locals stick around.

A large part of the island and surrounding smaller isles are part of the Rakiura National Park.

The island is the best place in New Zealand to spot kiwi birds in the wild, and whales and dolphins are regular visitors to the bays.

During parts of the year the aurora australis, the stunning southern lights, are visible in the sky.

Stewart Island, known sometimes as New Zealand's third island, is about twice the size of Singapore and was formerly a base for whaling operations.

The whaling has been replaced by salmon and abalone farming although tourism is growing in importance.

My introduction to activities on the island was aboard the SS Aurora on a fishing trip.

Fishing is not really my scene normally, but in a place as focused on the seas as Stewart Island it seemed a good way to see what makes the locals tick.

"We used to be a town of whalers. . ." explains skipper Graeme Amos, ". . .now we are an island of moaners."

While the jokes were pretty lame, the fishing wasn't.

For someone used to throwing a line over a pier and waiting hours for a nibble, it was fast and furious with mainly cod being hauled aboard.

For a boy on the trip though, it was more of an adventure after he pulled in a small shark, apparently not an uncommon occurrence.

The next day, fresh from a feed of cod, I took to the waters again, on a sea kayak.

Again I got a taste of why people put up with the teeth-chattering weather.

Ad Feedback

Three pods of dolphins came within 50 metres of our kayaks during the four-hour trip.

Penguins dived around us as we took the guided tour run by local woman Liz Cave.

I had never explored a coastline from aboard a kayak, but despite falling into the drink fully clothed – apparently only the third person on the tour ever to have achieved this unhappy feat – I was a convert.

The rocky ledges and rimu trees loomed larger and looked more interesting from the ocean, and the salty-sea air gave me a rush of energy, enabling me to pump my shoulders and continue.

Although kiwi birds are New Zealand's faunal emblem and so synonymous with the country that "kiwi" is a nickname for the entire population, the birds have been decimated on the mainland by introduced predators like ferrets, weasels and stoats.

Stewart Island though is free of these creatures, enabling a healthy population to exist.

In fact with an estimated 20,000 kiwi on the island, there are is a staggering ratio of 52 per person who live there.

I took a kiwi spotting tour and struggled to see why such a shy bird has come to be so associated with the chest-thumping, brash New Zealand sportspeople and their supporters.

The birds are largely nocturnal and spotting the elusive creatures for the first time sent a buzz through those on my tour group. One bold bird approached me and while I stood stock still it pecked away at my ankle.

As one local told me though: "You know your holiday to Stewart Island has gone on too long when the locals start waving to you in the street."

For me that was happening by day four, and I took his advice and left the island, which although a last-minute addition to my holiday, became a true highlight.

IF YOU GO:
Ferry information: www.stewartislandexperience.co.nz

Flights: www.stewartislandflights.co.nz

Sea kayaks: www.stewartisland.co.nz/Kayaks/Rakiura.html

Guided bus tours: www.taliskercharter.co.nz

Accommodation: www.stewartisland.co.nz

Kiwi spotting with Bravo Adventure Tours: www.stewartisland.co.nz/Activities/cruises.htm

A return flight to Stewart Island from Bluff was provided to the writer by Tourism New Zealand.

- AAP