Birds of a feather all flock to Oban
Oban probably isn’t what you would call a typical Kiwi town – aside from all the kiwi.
Sure, it has a Four Square, a pub, a post office and a school, but that might be where the similarities end.
Separated from the mainland by Foveaux Strait, the only way to get to New Zealand’s southernmost town is on or over the ocean.
Nestled into Halfmoon Bay on the eastern side of Stewart Island-Rakiura, Oban is the foothold of civilisation on a island largely untouched by man.
The island’s most famous two-legged inhabitants don’t tend to live in town, but are spread across the national park that takes up more than 85 per cent of the land.
About 20,000 kiwi live on Rakiura and the surrounding islands, along with a host of other wild birds, including penguins, albatross, petrels and gannets.
Seals and sea lions can be found along the coastline, while offshore, cage diving companies capitalise on the presence of great white sharks.
To the west, Codfish Island is the centre of New Zealand’s kakapo recovery program.
Of the human population, about 400 can be found, with most based in Oban. Prince Harry met most of them when he visited in 2015, the thenbachelor even receiving a few marriage proposals.
The royal visit briefly put Stewart Island on the world stage, before it quietly drifted off into obscurity again.
Stewart Island, or Rakiura as it’s also known, has plans to bring star seekers of a different kind to the island.
A new project to turn the island into an international ‘‘astrotourism’’ destination has been mooted, with locals hoping to gain ’’dark sky’’ status.
Stewart Island councillor Bruce Ford, who has lived on the island for the better part of 50 years, says sometimes the wilderness comes to town.
"We’ve got kiwi around town, deer around town – some people don’t like the deer because they eat the gardens – but for visitors they’re lovely to see,’’ Ford says.
‘‘Our kiwis are not quite as nocturnal as some, so you can see them in daylight.
‘‘You hear them from your bedside, I’ve seen them plenty of times and I never go looking for them.’’
Living and growing up so close to the bush, many ‘‘kind of take it for granted’’, he says.
‘‘The kids are the same. They’ll go away fishing or tramping, they’ll camp out with a packet of snarlers and a tent and stay out overnight somewhere.
‘‘There’s opportunities out here not many kids [elsewhere] would get.’’
With only one grocery store and just 28km of road on the island, the pace of life is different from most other places.
But that’s the way the locals like it.
Margaret Hopkins grew up in Christchurch, but for the past 43 years has called Oban home.
She says the slow pace harks back to a different time.
‘‘I equate it to the way I grew up in the 50s, even though it was in Christchurch. Stewart Island still seems to have that,’’ she says.
Children grow up resilient and independent, and have a greater appreciation for the things that really matter, like the environment, she says.
‘‘I can’t help but notice when children grow up in the city now, their life revolves much more around technology.
‘‘Parents are driving them to
We’ve got kiwi around town, deer around town – some people don’t like the deer because they eat the gardens. Bruce Ford
music and dancing . . . our kids extra-curricular activities involve disappearing into the bush or to the beach with their friends. They all seem quite confident at a very early age.’’
The two biggest employers on the island are fishing and tourism, with the latter growing in importance every year.
The population of the island more than doubles during summer, with tourists and seasonal workers descending on the town.
Fishing has been a mainstay on the island from the early days, with other industries coming and going over the past two centuries.
Sealing, whaling, forestry and tin mining all had their heyday, but their mark on the landscape is now largely forgotten.
Hopkins says while it would be nice to have a few more permanent residents on the island, the solitude is a big part of the appeal.
‘‘Waiheke is really like a suburb of Auckland isn’t it. It’s very beautiful and the climate’s nice – but I wouldn’t want to live there.
‘‘We’ve got that assurance where we know that stretch of water isn’t for the faint-hearted sometimes, I guess it’s kind of nice there’s a limited number of people here.
‘‘You particularly notice it if you’ve been away for a while and you come home. It’s like you breathe a sigh of relief.’’