Stewart Island

On the way to Stewart Island, we stopped at Nugget Point on the Southern Scenic Route (60kb) The lighthouse sat perched on a rugged coast (26kb) We watched the sea lions on the rocks below and spotted a blue penguin (23kb) Bluff - the southernmost tip of the South Island (23kb) Looking across the Foyeux Strait to Stewart Island (32kb)
Loading the ferry (52kb) The aluminium smelter at Bluff, which produces 2% of all the aluminium in the world (20kb) Half Moon Bay on Stewart Island, from the place that we stayed (37kb) Looking into the harbor where we would spend most of the next 3 days (28kb) A rainbow in the harbor (20kb)
Our view from dinner the first night (23kb) Church Hill, overlooking the harbor (37kb) Most of the boats in the harbor were personal boats, but there were some crayfish boats as well (32kb) 2 raucous kakas lived where we stayed - highly entertaining (23kb) From a hike around part of the island at low tide (51kb)
Much of the 5km hike was on boards to prevent erosion (62kb) Huge ferns! (89kb) There is a 3 day hike on Stewart Island that is ALL on these boards - what a lot of work! (63kb) One of the interesting vehicles on Stewart - everything is brought over by the ferries (55kb) Great gardens, since January is summer in NZ (113kb)
Dinner on Stewart Island blue cod, caught offshore and brought in just below the restaurant each day (29kb) It was terrific (50kb) I think there are 3 restaurants on the island and we ate at all of them (63kb) Downtown in Half Moon Bay - there are about 300 full time residents of the island (32kb) The harbor in the morning sun (27kb)
We had an interesting toilet.shower arrangement, and it was outside of our apartment (10kb) The Foyeux Express, taking 100 people at a time across the strait (29kb) We stayed at the large house in the middle of the picture (43kb) Leaving Stewart Island (49kb) It was a rough ride! Joe and Sara preferred to ride it like a bucking bronco (38kb)
Tam spent all of both rides out back, in the open air (51kb) On the way home, we were on the Presidential Highway (26kb) Then, it was back to the routine in Dunedin - off to their first day at school (23kb)