En route to Stewart Island I spent a night in Queenstown - I spent most of this evening doing a little planning and ate a fergburger (I'm sure I mentioned this the last time I went to Queenstown). The next day I was on my way to Stewart Island. The ferry crossing across the Foveaux strait is notoriously rough but I was fortunate and it was extremely calm, almost like a lake. I got into Oban in the early afternoon - it's a very pleasant town - I guess a bit reminiscent of an Irish or Scottish fishing village, it's very rural, very remote but very picturesque. The surrounding scenery however is very lush, very green (even though they were experiencing their driest summer in a long time - approaching a drought) with dense forest all around. 85% of the island is a national park so I was very much looking forward to my 3 day walk. To warm up I visited Ulva Island a small island off the coast - a bit of a bird sanctuary - for a wander around and to spot some birds. It was a really enjoyable walk - I saw some birds and some really stunning beaches!

The next day I was starting my walk - the Rakiura track. It is recommended that the track is walked in 3 days, this is however very conservative recommendation and I would probably suggest 2 days is plenty. On the first day the first 6kms are spent walking on the road which is a little boring although you do pass some fairly spectacular beaches. Then you reach the national park and the rest of the walk is through some lush forest along the coast where from time to time you get a view of a beautiful beach and at times even walk along the beach. After only 2 ½ hours of walking I reached the hut so enjoyed a relaxing afternoon napping and reading a book. As often is the case with these things I met some really nice and interesting people and whiled the evening away playing cards. When night came we went in search of the elusive Kiwi bird (Stewart Island provides the best chance of seeing a kiwi in NZ) however we were unsuccessful the only nocturnal animal I saw was a rat who didn't seem at all bothered by me. Some people did spot a kiwi near out hut but that was at 1am and I'd given up long before that!

On day 2 of the walk you cross the peninsula so spend all of the day walking through the forest. It was a really pleasant walk - and compared to some of the other great walks the Rakiura track is fairly quiet allowing lots of time to think and enjoy the peace and quiet of being in the wilderness. This was the longest day and the toughest day with a fair bit of ascent and decent (but not a very taxing walk). By about lunch time I'd reached the second hut so again had a relaxing afternoon reading and napping. Again that night I went kiwi hunting again and was unsuccessful - I guess I'll have to wait until my next visit to NZ to see a kiwi in the wild! The final day was another nice walk through the forest with some nice views out to see and ending back in Oban where I started.

I enjoyed the Rakiura track although felt it I could have done it in a shorter amount of time and while the scenery is very beautiful it is maybe not as dramatic or varied as the scenery on other hikes I have done. It was however a very nice start to my trip, I met some great people and enjoyed the experience and the quiet and remote feeling the Rakiura track provided.