A Muddy Beauty

under glowing skies

Over the next few weeks i’m going to delve into a bit of a mini series on one of my favourite places in the world! On the tail of my last post on Happiness, I felt it was only fitting to follow up with an adventure about a place I’m so passionate about.  Most who know me know I like to talk about my experience on Stewart Island.

Stewart Island is probably one of my favourite places on earth and whilst over the next few weeks I’m going to try to convey through my thoughts and share some images on what makes it so special, nothing can reveal the true beauty of Rakiura until you experience it for yourself.

Te Punga o Te Waka a Maui, the original Maori name, positions Stewart Island firmly at the heart of Maori mythology. Translated as "The Anchor Stone of Maui's Canoe", it refers to the part played by the Island in the legend of Maui who from his canoe (the South Island) caught and raised the great fish, (the North Island).

The more commonly known and used name however is Rakiura. Translated as "The great and deep blushing of Te Rakitamau" an early Maori Chief, seen today as the glowing sunrises, sunsets and the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights which can sometimes be seen from the island. The English name, Stewart Island, is in honour of William Stewart, first mate on the sealer Pegasus, who charted Port Pegasus, the main port on the island, in 1809.

So 200 years late and after a little bit of training, I decided to do a hike around the north west circuit of the island. Not fully knowing what I was getting myself into, I jumped on the Department of conservation (DOC) website, to discover it is probably one of the hardest hikes your can do in NZ… 

Great I thought, better up the training!  So after only doing a couple of day hikes and the Kepler track over 3 days the year before, I decided to give it a shot with my cousin leading the way.  Now he’s a veteran hiker and has hiked most of the great walks around NZ and around the world, so he was more than prepared to tackle this 12 day beast!  Me not so much…  I weighed in at a heafty 113kg at the Invercargill airport.  See you have to weigh yourself in for the short plane ride from the South Island to Oban, the only town on the island and as you take out what you take in, I had a very light 36kg pack back to make it a bit more challenging!  Looking back I definitely overpacked. You always want to be as light as possible when you hike, but when you need 14 days of food, always allowing a couple of days extra just incase bad weather sets in, you have to be prepared for every event. It was definitely going to be a fun few days!

After landing on a tiny runway, in a tiny plane, on a tiny island at the bottom of the world, I was super excited to check in to our hostel and go for a wonder around Oban to see what this capital has to offer.  Capital?  Man she’s like a suburb from where I come from. Oban is pretty small, with 300 residents, a 4 Square(tiny super market), a Museum, Art Gallery, a Pub and quite possibly the best Fish n Chips caravan in the world! Ya can literally walk around the town in 20 mins…she’s pretty small!

After registering with the local DOC office, and picking up our EPIRB(emergency beacon)…this was a sign of things to come. We checked in for the night at the local hostel, our comfy, cosy and welcoming accomodation.  Lots of old books to read, sea shell water features and drift wood sprinkled throughout, I was nervous but getting excited to hit the trail the next day.

Day 1 we were eyeing up our packs to set out for the 30 min walk down the road to the beginning of the track just out of the Oban township, when the local Hostel owner offered us a ride to the beginning of the track. Yes please!

Alright we thought, better to get a ride now and save some energy for the track ahead.  We had been warned its a bit wet out there so expect to be walking in a bit of mud!  Phhh we thought, shell be right, a typical quintessential kiwi response! How bad can it be?!?

Getting out of the van, we headed off under the chain, a sculpture signifying Stewart island was anchoring the mainland, on a nice gentle 3hr stroll on a well maintained and groomed shingle track. Port William Hut done!  This should be easy peasy!

Ha ha well Day 2 put an end to any thought of it being easy.  After a great first night, chopping our own fire wood and having our first dehydrated meal under our belt, I was ready for what this island had to throw at me.  Walking away from the hut, we turned to right head into the bush heading for Bungaree Hut. Immediately into the bush and WHAM!  Mud…well Peat to be precise.  We were ankle deep within metres of leaving the hut, oh shit this is gonna be fun!  Yip from there it didn’t stop it was a further 8 days of relentless walking in ankle to knee deep mud and water with a few sandy and rocky beaches thrown in just for good measure. Now we knew why its not a track for the faint hearted.

Heading off for Christmas Village Hut on day 3, more peat/mud and a gentle river crossing, by gentle I am being sarcastic, we had to link arms with a DOC officer walking the same direction as us.  He was super knowledgeable, and way fitter than I so we always ended up catching up to him on his breaks, or when he need us to help get across a river, or over an evening meal. I had never crossed a fast flowing river over my hips before, so it was a bit scary being asked to undo your pack straps and link arms slowly walking 3 abreast across the swiftly flowing river.  The idea of undoing your pack is so it doesn’t drag you down if you stumble, and suddenly find your self stuck at the bottom of the river, being held down by your pack looking up at the glimmering light, this would not be a good start to the holiday! So after negotiating this little obstacle, we arrived at the Hut, we signed in, and could see another person had signed in just ahead of us.

Peggy.  I normally don’t name people in my newsletters, but Peggy’s story has to be told as it is an important reminder to all those looking to get into hiking or exploring the great outdoors. 

Peggy was a German Tourist doing the same circuit as us, though we hadn’t met Peggy, we knew her by name as we had been following her around the circuit for the past few days.  When you arrive in a Hut your sign a day book, and leave a quick note on your thoughts and how your day was.  This is a security blanket so if something happens to you, Search and rescue can help by tracing your whereabouts from your last known location.

We arrived sometime after 3pm, after another challenging day.  Around 4pm, two young ladies from the NZ police force, who were walking the circuit clockwise rocked up to the hut.  I can attest it is way harder walking in a clockwise direction, if its your first time anti is the way to go. After we had our meals, we were sitting around chatting and getting know one another, when we realised Peggy had still not returned. So the girls decided to look through her gear and found a note in her sleeping bag saying she had gone up Mt Anglem for a day hike having left the hut around 1pm.  Now its only a 900m climb, but in the muddy conditions we were experiencing, we were a bit concerned she was not back yet it was around 6pm and was getting dark.

After about 30mins of discussion we went out looking for her, we spent about an hour looking up and down the trails in all 3 directions for any signs of her, calling out and shining our torches into the blackness of the bush. No sign of her?!  There was no moon shining that night, so apart for the stars, which I might add are brilliant on Stewart island as there is no light bleeding from a cities or nearby towns.  Its just you the blackness and nature. Your basically on your own. 

On returning back to the hut the girls, who had a sat phone, called back to the mainland to report a missing person and informed Search and rescue, we needed help… she was now officailly missing. 

We all went to bed with our hearts in our mouths, worried for this person who we had not met, out there in the darkness alone, unknown if she was ok.  Around 11pm we turned in as we were told a helicopter would be with us at first light, to mount a search and rescue mission and we would be heavily involved.

A few hours later, around 1am the heavens opened and it bucketed down!  It was heavy rain too, pounding on the roof waking everyone up in the hut.  No one said anything but I’m sure everyone was thinking what I was thinking, well this sucks, I hope she is ok out there?

We were all up and fed and ready waiting for the helicopter to arrive by 6am.  Then in the distance the thwap thwap thwap as the blades split the air, bringing in the help we needed. 4 days without a sniff of mechanical noise, the man mad machine was getting louder, then suddenly the Helicopter roared over the surrounding hills and flew directly overhead, did a 180 in front of the hut and landed spinning blades feet from the front window of the hut. This picture is literally how close I was standing on the front porch. Skilled pilot much?!

Out jumped 5 men in bright orange and yellow wet weather gear.  They quickly discussed their plans with us whilst the helicopter went off to look for her from the air. They handed out radios and off we went walking the 3 paths leading away from the hut… into the unknown looking for this missing young lady...

Now whilst NZ is renowned for being beautiful and has some amazing scenery that beauty is also our biggest killer.  More people die in NZ from exposure to the elements than by any other means. You can’t underestimate Mother Nature and what she can throw at you. Be prepared for the worst conditions at all times. There was a reason we hired an EPIRB from the DOC office…

When i’m out hiking I always make sure i’m well prepared, more food + water than I need, a knife and flint, compass, maps, dry bags, 2 x torches, gortex jacket and heaps of socks. A secret tip I like to share is grab some merino wool from your local hiking shop, wrap this around you toes and place around your heels. The natural tannins and oils help keep your feet from developing blisters and rubbing in your boots. Sounds corny but it works. Another hot tip my trusty icebreaker clothing. I dont get paid to plug their product, but after buying my first icebreaker for $200 in the late 90’s, I still have it to this day, its my go to clothing of choice for hiking and snowboarding. It wicks away moisture when i’m hot and sweaty leaving me dry and cool and keeps me warm and cozy in when its cold out. Best yet you can wear them for days on end as it doesn’t retain any odour what so ever. I even brought icebreaker boxer shorts on this trip, to keep my pack light and wore them the entire trip. Looked and smelt as new as the day I brought them… yip I sniffed my undies! Even after sweating my arse off in them.

I know people always say you get what you pay for and in this sport it’s true, you can’t skimp on your gear. I buy the best money can buy, after all I can’t use my money when i’m dead, but I can use it whilst i’m alive to help keep me alive in the great outdoors.

Enough plugging products of now, tune in next week for the conclusion of Day 4 and Peggy’s story as we continue on our journey around Rakiura with more excitement and adventure to come.

So until next week

Stay safe out there