Exploring Stewart Island

Yesterday (Wednesday here) was cold with rain but we headed for Stewart Island just the same. It's a hour on a small ferry from Bluff to Oban on the island. It's one of the worst crossings in the world according to the locals but only a few folks got sea sick.

You can almost see the ferry below the dock. It holds 100 passengers and a crew of three. Today there was about 15 of us foolish souls.

We hopped off the ferry and on to a mini-bus for a hour and a half tour of the island. We found this along the way. It's a telephone tree. Enlarge it and you will see that a old turn the crank... talk to the operator.... party line phone attached to a tree. It's the island answer to 911 and is used by all for emergencies ( like I'm late for dinner).

We drove to a overlook where we had a good look at the coastline of the island. The island is mostly national park and is uninhabited except for hikers and backpackers. The only industry on the island is fishing and tourism of course.

We got off the bus and immediately boarded a boat for a two and a half trip to some of the bays and inlets along the island. The trip included a walk on Ulva island, a nature preserve and bird sanctuary. Then if was off to the ferry and the hour ride back to Bluff.
Today we head to Te Anau and Milford Sound. More from there.