A Visit to Stewart Island and the Phone Tree

Foveaux Strait & Titi Islands

On our trip to the South Island earlier this year we managed to tick off another "Bucket List item" with a visit to Stewart Island. Fortunately the weather brightened up after early morning rain and we made our way to the Bluff Harbour terminal. The island is serviced by boat and air and helicopter flights are available. We had made a commitment before leaving home that we would not only cross over Foveaux Strait by boat, even if it was rough (and it can get ROUGH!) but we would also do the bus trip around the island (that only has about 20kms of road)and we would enjoy a lunch of the celebrated blue cod & chips at Oban.

Oban in Half Moon Bay

We boarded the catamaran and once we had cleared the harbour, the weather lifted and the sea became quite calm. The boat was very powerful and because it was off peak, there weren't many passengers. We passed the famous Tititi Islands where they collect the Mutton Birds (Sooty Shearwaters) and we were told by the Skipper that 14 great white sharks also lived in this area. When we arrived at Oban (Celtic for Many Coves) there was a small passenger bus waiting with a very genial driver who gave us a very informative tour of the Island. We visited Mason Bay and viewed Paterson Inlet from a hilly vantage point and also saw Ulva Island which is a famous bird sanctuary.

They call Stewart Island the 'Island of Tranquility" and it definitely lives up to 

Stewart Island Phone Tree

this name. 

You can get out of the bus at different scenic spots and all you can hear is the sound of Tuis and if you are close to the sea the sound of lapping water. It really is a beautiful island and we enjoyed our trip immensely. One of the unusual sights was the public phone tree, where instead of a phone box, the phone and phone book are fixed to a large tree.  There are 280 people living on the Island, 140 are holiday home owners!

                   Lyn at Oban

The view from the end of the sealed road looks out over Paterson Inlet and you can look down on a small harbour named Thule (sounds like Tullay), named after the Alaskan Thule and we were taken to view a house that was imported in the early 1900s from Norway in what our guide said was the first type of kitset house in New Zealand. The only thing missing was the snow and in fact any snow would not last long on the very steep roof.

At long last we returned to Oban and the South Sea hotel where we ordered a cold beer and a meal of Blue Cod & Chips. The lunch was fantastic and we both had plates covered in three large pieces of delectable Cod, ample chips and a nice salad. WOW!

leaving Stewart Island

We strolled around the waterfront and when the catamaran arrived for the trip back to the mainland, we were both very relaxed and ready to enjoy the 1 hour trip back to Bluff. All in all a very pleasant day that we will remember for many years. If you haven't been to Stewart Island yet, I don't know what you are waiting for! 

            (View more photos on my Web album)