Somehow I managed to drift off back to sleep despite the freezing temperature. It wasn’t long until my alarm went off though. It was time to throw off the duvet and get dressed.
As you know I’m not a morning person so this is usually a slow process. I never know what I’m going to wear and I always end up rummaging around in my bag to pick things out.
This time was different. I sped up like a Benny Hill comedy sketch. I layered up as fast as I could and made my way to the kitchen where I hoped that the fire was on.
It was and the place was pretty much empty. I think everyone else sensibly stayed in bed that bit longer. I needed some breakfast so I made a dash for it.
With muesli in tow, I nestled down in front of the fire. I was joined by three Brits who were staying there in a campervan. We got talking about our travels and swapped our STA Travel traumas. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that has had a nice thing to say about them. How are they still running?
It happened again. Japan was mentioned and one of the girls, Louise, was really interested in visiting the country. Off I went on my little Japan tangent. By the end of it, Louise was still smiling and said that she wants to go more than ever now. I passed her my details and said that if she ever goes, to drop me a line and I’ll help the best I can. I’m not sure if I’ll hear from her as I wrote it on a flimsy piece of paper that could easily be misplaced. I’m happy to talk about Japan to anyone though so it’d be nice to hear from her.
We’d managed to talk all the way up until it was my time to leave. We said our goodbyes and I left with the bus for Invercargill. Most people from the bus chose to stay here for the night. Neil and Simone were going to hop off at Bluff to go hiking and I and one other were taking the ferry boat out to Stewart Island.
On the way to Te Anau I fell asleep. Even though I was right at the back, E.T. noticed and told everyone to turn around and stare at me. Nobody took a photo which is what usually happens!
We stopped off to get food for the evening. I wasn’t in a sensible mood whatsoever. My basket consisted off Tim Tams, snakes, bread and a potato. I was happy with my purchases!
Before we left Te Anau, we picked up another passenger – Michael from Munich. Normally when I meet someone from Germany I instantly ask whereabouts. As I was born in Germany, I always hope to find someone who is from the same city as my birthplace.
To say that, in my opinion, Germans make up most of the travelling population, I’ve only met one from Hannover. Even though there are Germans everywhere, I’ve also noticed that they’re not always the friendliest so I start with that. It’s something different and they react positively to it.
On the way down, we played a game called This Is Your Life. Someone comes up with three statements about themselves and one is a lie. It’s a really good game as you hear some crazy stories. Mine were all Japan related and most people guessed the lie which was annoying. I said – I’ve eaten Fugu, the potentially poisonous fish, I’ve fallen off of Mount Fuji and I’ve walked around naked in public. The third one is a trick as I was naked in public in the onsen pools but phrasing it like that makes it sound like I just walked down the street with no clothes on. I thought everyone would think that was a lie but no, I look like someone who randomly takes their clothes off in public!
E.T.’s choices were hilarious – he’s had 18 operations, he’s a hermaphrodite and Pamela Anderson introduced herself to him. I obviously thought the second one was a lie but most people opted for the Pamela Anderson story. E.T. is not a hermaphrodite and if he was, I doubt he’d let a bus full of strangers know!
When everyone stopped off at Invercargill I was a bit jealous as there’s a cinema, bowling and free pool. I’m probably going to miss out on a good night. I was still looking forward to Stewart Island though.
Before we boarded the boat, the few of us who were moving on from Invercargill stopped off at a viewpoint.
I made loose arrangements with Neil and Simone to meet back in Queenstown to go skiing. It would be great to get back out there and have another go.
Now it was just Caroline (French-Canadian) and me left to take on the ferry ride to Stewart Island. Caroline had taken anti-sickness tablets but I was confident that I wouldn’t need anything as I’d never been sea sick before.
What a joke. This was some kind of demon ferry ride. We spent more time in the air than on the water, it was crazy. I was ok for the first ten minutes but then I caved in. I thought I was going to be sick.
In a desperate bid to evade the vomit, I plugged in some music. The Lion King soundtrack came on. Hakuna Matata would not help me right now! I skipped to the next album which was Michael Buble. I bobbed to I Haven’t Met You Yet but everything else was too mellow. I needed something raaargh
It distracted me long enough so that I wasn’t sick everywhere. The song choices were a little unnerving – Apocalypse Please and the talk of the end of the world or how about Time Is Running Out with the opening lyrics, "I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated..." Damn!
The boat had been moving for a while and I was tempted to ask the captain how long we had left. I hesitated as I felt like I’d vomit Exorcist style if I opened my mouth.
Finally, the hellish ride stopped and I dashed off. I managed to keep everything down. The fresh air relieved me of my nausea as Caroline and I trundled off to our bed for the night.
Finding the hostel wasn’t a problem but locating the reception was a mystery. Eventually we figured it out and entered our room. Although it didn’t look like it was well heated, we had a million blankets and a duvet to snuggle under so I was looking forward to a toasty night’s sleep.
There didn’t seem to be much to do that evening so I snuggled up in bed and watched a few programmes on my laptop before I went to sleep.
*****
I awoke to a surprisingly crisp cool morning. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be so getting ready wasn’t a big issue. I was able to take my time, grab some breakfast and make my way out to Ulva Island for some bird watching. I was on the prowl for a kiwi.
Caroline and I set off in good time. We had half an hour to get there but it was only a five minute walk. The hostel receptionist pointed out where we needed to be on the map. The boat was due to depart from Golden Bay.
As we exited the hostel, there were two roads to choose from. One was called Golden Bay Road and the other one wasn’t signposted. I suggested we went up the Golden Bay Road as the title in itself is a giveaway. Caroline looked at the map and said that the receptionist told her not to go up the road with a hill. Now we all know that I have no sense of direction and I’m forever getting lost. I decided to trust Caroline and went up the other street.
The funny thing was, the road that we were walking on was also a hill. I didn’t have a good feeling about this at all and hoped that the road linked back up to Golden Bay. It didn’t and we got lost. I flagged down a car and asked for directions. We were a long way from where we were supposed to be and only had ten minutes to get to the bay. I was worried.
After a lot of power walking and a mad sprint finish, I made it to the bay in time. I asked the woman at the ticket desk if they could wait a minute for Caroline who came down a few minutes after me.
We made it! I bought a ticket in the form of a leaf and boarded the small boat. Two guys were already sat down and joked about my sweaty demeanour. It didn’t take long for me to cool down as there was a peep hole right at the front of the boat. It was very much a Titanic moment.
As we had an afternoon ferry booked back to Bluff, we spent around three hours on the island following the various trails in an attempt to spot the elusive kiwi. There aren’t that many around and not that many people get to see them in the flesh. I was hoping that today was my lucky day.
A parakeet whooshed by me within minutes of stepping off the boat. I wandered around at a snail’s pace taking in the glorious nature around me. My eyes darted all over – to the branches for the common birds and the ground for the flightless kiwi bird.
I took a lot of nature shots. I wish I knew what this was!
Branches that reminded me of spider legs. Creepy
My buddy the Stewart Island Robin
New Zealand Pigeon - the only other birds that would sit still and let me take photos!
Three hours passed by so quickly. Although the trails around the island take an hour and a half to walk, I only just made it back in time for the boat.
With a few minutes to spare, I bought a booklet and read the signs that describe the history of Ulva Island. It's so fascinating how people are working towards creating a haven for endangered species. Between 1993 and 1997 all of the rats on Ulva island were killed. This is just one of many steps that have and still are being taken to eradicate weeds and pests from this island. I hope that all their hard works pays off in the end.
With a few minutes to spare, I bought a booklet and read the signs that describe the history of Ulva Island. It's so fascinating how people are working towards creating a haven for endangered species. Between 1993 and 1997 all of the rats on Ulva island were killed. This is just one of many steps that have and still are being taken to eradicate weeds and pests from this island. I hope that all their hard works pays off in the end.
Once we were back in Stewart Island, hunger took over and I decided to head back to the hostel for lunch rather than walk along the bay. I wanted to make sure that I was fully alert for the boat ride back and not exhausted from all the walking.
Thankfully, the ferry back was nowhere near as bad as the previous journey. I managed to get a window seat and plugged in my music as a distraction.
We had a little photo session…
A long way from home
Chain that links the south island to Stewart Island (not literally!)
…then made our way back to Queenstown. It was a long journey and Bryony had prepared a game for us. The classic pass the parcel. For those who have never played this childhood party game, a prize is wrapped up several times. Music is played and when it stops, whoever is holding the parcel takes off a layer. As a child there would usually be sweets in between layers but what we found were dares. I love playing games that involve dares. It means I can be a complete idiot and have fun without any judgement as I’m just following through with a dare. It’s a great excuse to be a bit crazy.
Most of the dares were pretty tame. I had to lick a window and smell someone’s hair. I also had to catch a sheep. Unfortunately it was pitch black and we could not see any sheep. It was a dare I had to postpone. It was all good fun though.
We arrived in Queenstown quite late in the evening. I was too tired to cook so I had another Fergburger. It was delicious. I went for a Cock Cajun this time and it was the best chicken burger I’ve ever had in my life. That is no exaggeration. The chicken breast strips were thick, juicy and chargrilled. It had a lovely zingy spice to it that left your lips tingling slightly but it wasn’t too overpowering.
I didn’t time my burger demolishment well as some of the girls from the bus were going to head out for some drinks. Thankfully I had a little while for my Ferg baby to subside.
What started out as a bus outing, ended up being just me and a few others as everyone headed to bed for an early night. Great, as soon as I want to go out for some drinks, nobody wants to bother!
In the end we went to a couple of bars but I was in bed by 2am. Weak!
Cocktails in teapots, ha!
I love teeeea!
I made plans with the others to meet the next day to go to the viewpoint. I had no idea what I’d be doing for the rest of my time in Queenstown. My priority is to save money so I won’t be jumping out of any planes or crashing into fences any time soon!
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