In the morning we joined forces to tramp through mud and up wet temperate rainforest hillside to the summit of aptly named “Rocky Mountain” with granite rocks positioned about. The wind was cold and fierce on top so we only stuck around long enough to take a few photos of the spectacular 360 degree view. A three hour roundtrip returned us to the hut at Freshwater.
We didn’t spend much time at Freshwater as we grabbed our packs for a four hour hike to Mason Bay. The path took us through more mud and wetlands. The path was dry at times atop what remained of an old road be constructed by crazy sheep farmers in the 1930’s.
The hut at Mason bay was nice but the bunk room stank. Nonetheless, it beat camping in rain, wind and cold. It made for a nice home for two nights. Mason Bay beach, Big Sand Hill, and walks about looking for Kiwis filled the time.
Raphael at 20 had already hiked the length of New Zealand minus a few road walks along a new hiking route that’s rapidly gaining international popularity. I thought of doing a stretch of it for most if not all of time in New Zealand but Meniere’s and lack of drive kept me from it. Raphael, although peculiar in his almost mechanical sounding English, is obviously smart and confident. He’s already banked a nice chunk of money in the field of science under a skill gained in an internship within a specialized field. He’s on the road for a year with most of his time being spent in New Zealand hiking and camping.
After two nights at Mason Bay Will and I returned to the Freshwater hut for one more night to be ready for pickup by boat the following morning. Raphael continued on through mud to walk back into town. On the way back to Freshwater we finally spotted a Kiwi on the lawn of the Ranger’s cabin. Kiwis, of the bird type, are very difficult to see. Most are nocturnal but one vairety does come out during daylight hours. Stewart Island provides the best chance of catching a glimpse but even then only 30% of visitors are lucky enough to spot one.
At Freshwater we had the company of a couple we had also stayed with at the Mason Bay Hut. The wife was an MD General Practitioner and the husband was someone who seemed to think a lot of himself. He didn’t think my register comment about hunting Kiwis, of the bird variety, and wishing I’d brought more bullets was very funny. Will thought it was hilarious. Not just my comment which was blatantly intended for humor but the husband’s reaction.
When two Argentinians showed up at the hut at 9pm with three more on the way I took advantage of my knowledge of cultural differences and pitched my tent outside. Argentinians are night people who like to eat dinner around 10 or 11. They were surprised to find people were already sleeping at 9 pm.
In the morning it was a total of nine hikers catching the boat out. It’s a fairly narrow window that allows for a small boat to travel up Freshwater due to tides. Conditions were calm with little wind. We spent the afternoon in the main village of Oban and caught the afternoon ferry back to the South Island and the old sleepy port town of Bluff. The float back to Bluff was nothing like the previous trip to Stewart Island. The seas were much calmer, almost boring. Coffee was free and beer was cheap but I had neither. I’m still keeping the vertigo at bay.
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