The magic of the third island
Eleanor Hughes heads as far south as you can get and still be in NewZealand. Staying in Stewart Island’s only town, she finds that Oban makes a great base to explore our third island.
Stewart Island is a 20-minute, small plane flight from Invercargill, or an hour’s ferry from Bluff. Either option can be adventurous on a wild day. This bush-clad island offers something for everyone, from being driven around on guided tours to walking its 200 kilometres of tracks, fishing, snorkelling, cycling, or even jade carving.
With a population of only 402 people at last count, it’s laid-back, with the hub of Oban – the only town – centred on Main Rd and Elgin Tce along Halfmoon Bay’s waterfront.
The Four Square, Oban Visitor Centre, Rakiura National Park Visitor Centre/Department of Conservation office, South Sea Hotel, ferry terminal, and tourism operators are all within a few minutes’ walk of each other.
Morning Wake up at Stewart Island Backpackers
Wake up to the sound of birdsong at Stewart Island Backpackers. Offering twin and double rooms, and triple or quadruple dormitory rooms that look brand new, they’re clean, carpeted, have heating, and bedding is provided.
With a well-equipped communal kitchen and large lounge area, where maps, weather forecasts and information on the island is located, it’s a great place to meet people. The helpful staff can offer suggestions on what to do, and if you have been tramping, there are washing machines and dryers to sort out dirty clothes.
18 Ayr St
Breakfast at South Sea Hotel
If you are not cooking your own at the backpackers, continental breakfasts are available from 7am, or cooked breakfasts between 8am and 10.30am, at South Sea Hotel on the waterfront.
Pick a sunny spot by the windows looking out to the harbour, which is dotted with fishing boats.
26 Elgin Tce
Explore the pest-free island sanctuary of Ulva Island
Walk the slightly hilly, 10-minute road to lessfamous Golden Bay from Oban, and take a prebooked water taxi to Ulva Island.
Three companies operate – Rakiura Charters, Aihe Eco Charters & Water Taxi and Ulva Island Ferry & Water Taxi.
Alternatively, an Ulva Bay guided tour with Beaks and Feathers, Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience or Ulva’s Guided Walks offers transport to Golden Bay.
It’s possible to walk the entire island’s undulating tracks yourself at a slow pace in around 31⁄ hours.
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Docking at Post Office Bay, pick up a booklet from the shelter there for a $2 donation. The booklet has an island map, details of birdlife and vegetation, and the island’s history, with references to numbered marker pegs found along tracks. The walks pass sandy beaches where there’s the chance to watch sea lions, a viewpoint, and verdant native bush.
Go slow, look up into trees and on the forest floor for sightings of ka¯ka¯ tearing at tree trunks or chasing one another along branches, saddleback, Stewart Island robin, and ka¯ka¯riki, which are the hardest to spot with their camouflaged green bodies.
Inquisitive weka may appear on West End Beach or Post Office Bay.
However, be warned, there’s nothing available on the island, so take snacks and drinks.
Lunch
Oban’s Four Square can supply sandwiches, or just about anything else you fancy if you’re preparing lunch yourself. For more filling lunches, try the South Sea Hotel restaurant, or Just Cafe has sandwiches and cakes.
Afternoon Short walks around town
DOC sells a great booklet featuring numerous short walks around Oban.
Bathing Beach, a sandy, tranquil spot with turquoise water, is only 15 minutes’ walk from Oban’s centre. The 10-minute Fuchsia Walk leads through pretty bush to finish at the rugby field where, on the opposite side, the Raroa Track leads to Watercress Bay.
Quaint boatsheds perch on piles above the water and kayaks are available to hire. All up, this is a 25-minute walk, one way.
For a slightly longer option, take a three-hour return walk, turning right from South Sea Hotel along Elgin Tce. Skirting Halfmoon Bay harbour, there are boatsheds and colourful wooden fishing boats, with views back to Oban. An adjoining bush track leads to one of New Zealand’s oldest stone buildings, the heritage-listed Ackers Cottage, situated in secluded Harrold Bay. The track ends at Ackers Point, where a platform offers views out to Foveaux Strait and Titi/Muttonbird Islands, with information panels on their history, muttonbirds and little blue penguins.
Observation Rock
A steepish ascent up Leonard St, off Golden Bay Rd, leads to Observation Rock, which offers views over bush-covered islands in Paterson Inlet. It is recommended at sunset.
Hit the road
With only 27 kilometres of roads on Stewart Island, explore on an ebike available for hire on Main Rd, or hire a scooter or car from Red Barn Visitor Centre at the wharf.
Discover wild, stony bays and tranquil, sheltered beaches. Pass by quiet Horseshoe Bay on the way to Lee Bay, where a chain sculpture marks the entrance to Rakiura National Park and access to trails, including the three-day Rakiura Track Great Walk. Information panels relate the area’s history.
To see an example of the island’s picturesque tannin-stained waters, take a 15-minute bush trail
from Lee Bay to the just above sea-level bridge at Little River.
Snorkel Marine Reserve waters
Stewart Island Adventures offers three-hour, small group tours to Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve’s clear waters for 11⁄ hours of
2 snorkelling.
Floating over rock reefs and kelp forests, you can enjoy seeing marine life, including pa¯ua, kina, blue cod, starfish and octopus. Guides are super helpful, so don’t worry if you’re a novice.
Afternoon refreshments at Just Cafe
Cosy little Just Cafe offers coffee, tea, turmeric latte, hot blackcurrant and apple drinks, and hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows, as well as sweet treats such as caramel and coconut slices, scones, brownies and carrot cake. Front tables look out to South Sea Hotel and a glimpse of the sea.
6 Main Rd
The Bunkhouse Theatre
Open between October and April, Stewart Island Bunkhouse Theatre screens the 40-minute film,
A Local’s Tail. It tells the entertaining, sometimes hysterical story of Stewart Island from the point-ofview of Lola, a dog.
In winter, rent or buy the movie, on DVD, from the Four Square.
The comfy, 53-seat movie theatre also shows independent movies and the annual Show Me Shorts Film Festival.
10 Main Rd
Evening Dine at South Sea Hotel
The iconic South Sea Hotel has the only food establishment open during winter, with the kitchen closing at 7.30pm.
The classic restaurant, adorned with historical Stewart Island photographs, serves beautifully presented, large meals.
Seafood dominates the menu. There’s blue cod, mussels and salmon, and daily, mouth-watering specials are offered, such as Marmite and honeyroasted pork belly, butter chicken or oxtail stew. For vegetarians, options are limited.
26 Elgin Tce
Quiz Night
If it’s Sunday, the South Sea Hotel’s bar will be packed for the weekly quiz, at 6.30pm. You’ll need to nab a table by 5pm. It’s a fun night, with lots of banter, finishing about 8.30pm. Meals are available from the adjoining restaurant’s menu.
Kiwi spotting
The Stewart Island kiwi, the largest kiwi, is occasionally seen during the day on island tracks.
If you don’t get that lucky, Beaks and Feathers take small-group night tours, which begin half-anhour after dark and last about 11⁄ hours, up to the
2 bush-lined airstrip where the male kiwis’ highpitched calls can be heard. Using red-light torches to search for them, during winter it’s usual to see up to three kiwi, in summer around 10. Naturally, any sighting tops off a stay on Stewart Island.
The writer travelled to Stewart Island at her own expense, but was hosted by Great South for Beaks and Feathers’ kiwi night-spotting tour.