Stewart Island - Day 2

After having set our alarms for 9:15 in the morning, all three of us ended up waking around 8:00. The rain was smashing on the roof and it's always difficult to sleep in on strange beds.

I laid in bed until the rain stopped, but the wind kept blowing hard. And then the wind stopped...but seemed to come in short, evenly spaced bursts. Gentle but strong. I didn't know how to explain it. Then it hit me - it was the tide. I was laying in my bed with my windows closed and just below me was the Tasman Sea rolling into the beach. I got up and went outside to take some pictures from the balcony (you can find them in the Rakiura (Stewart Island) photo album there on the right hand side.

We got up, had breakfast and did a massive clean up. The boys did the dishes, I did the stove...the boys vacuumed and set up the living room the way we found it and I did the bathrooms. It was probably more spotless than before we got there. Very cool.

We went down to the wharf to check in our luggage and then to the Visitors Centre because we were booked in for a "Villages and Bays" tour. This was a tour where we all piled onto a bus and drove around the town of Oban, being told lots of fun facts about the island and stuff (which is how I found out about the telephones and electricity and population...and even the prohibition story). It lasted over an hour but it was quite interesting.

Then we rented a car (Donald was keen to do it since he now has his full license and CAN do it) and drove around the island a bit, then went for lunch up at the Wharfside Cafe or whatever it's called. We even went to the mouth of a trail that was going to lead to the REAL LIFE FERN GULLY! I really wanted to go to it but we didn't have time. So I took a picture of the sign and the start of the track. We took lots of pictures and then when we got bored of the car, we were able to take three scooters again (this time for free) and we all went our separate ways.

I went for a trip along the other side of the island, taking a road that led directly along the water. It was windy and would seem slightly dangerous if the speed limit wasn't only 30 k's for cars (and I was going MUCH slower on the scooter). I took a bunch of pictures and started back towards the centre to return the scooter when I felt it start to rain a little bit. I thought "yay! I love rain!" and then...all of a sudden...it started to sting. And bounce. And really hurt. It was hailing! And I was trying to ride a motorized vehicle without any shelter from the pelting ice! It was NOT pretty. I couldn't see - my face was stinging, my legs...numb. I decided I HAD to pull over because I could barely open my eyes to see where I was going.

Finally it cut down to only about half the amount of hail, so I decided to hack it out the rest of the way (I only had two blocks to go!) so I rode down the street quietly saying "Ow! Ow! Ow!" over and over again. One of the locals laughed at me and asked how the face was feeling. It was fun.

We got back to the centre with sore faces and cold hands, returned the scooters and went back to the wharf to catch the ferry back to Bluff.

On the way back, I decided I was going to stand at the back of the boat with all the other crazies (obviously it was safe enough otherwise the staff wouldn't let us out there). I stood with my back to the cargo, holding tightly onto the cargo strap just in case of any sudden movements, and got absolutely SOAKED. about 50 minutes of cold salt water splashing on my face and clothes (I wasn't wearing anything waterproof except the plastic bag in my hoodie pocket holding my camera and cellphone). Most people thought I was mad (the crazy kind). Others thought I was stupid to let my cellphone and camera stay where they were (for the record, they're still perfectly functional). Others thought I was brave.

In any case, it was a fun ride. I know that my family would kill me to find out that we were going sideways over at least 2 metre swells and I was out at the back of the boat with nothing between me and the Tasman Sea but a chest-high railing and 10 feet of air (or 5 depending on which way the boat was rocking). It was intense but I had the sturdiest sea legs out there. I had it all sussed out while the drunks were stumbling around with a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other...it was better than some of the rides at Wonderland. I loved it.

We got back, I got CHANGED (there wasn't an inch of dry clothing on me) and we went to pick up my friend Ray in Invercargill before going home.

All in all, it was a good weekend. I had fun and didn't feel like all I was doing was touristy stuff that was going to keep me too busy to just relax.

Check out some pictures! The End!