Stewart Island

[George Papantoniou]

I stumbled upon this, when fooling around with Google Maps...

Does anybody know anything about this southern part of NZ ? Anyone been there ? Is it nice ? Any photo ops ? I wonder how it will feel to live in that far far far away place, with only 400 inhabitants... The photos I saw in the Wikipedia article really excited me. I was wondering whether I could ever be able to make a trip to NZ and particularly Stewart Island...

 

[crispinuk]

Hello George,
This thread from a little while ago has a lot of advice about New Zealand in general:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

During my trip to NZ I spent a few days on Stewart Island, I really enjoyed the place but the weather varied from a bit wet to very wet, which I think is typical and understandable given its location.
For most visitors the island only really consists of Oban, the only (very small) town, as most of the island is only accessible by hiking trails. I believe these are quite hard core as one of the features of Stewart Island is knee deep (or more) gloopy mud.
There are some fanatastic beaches that are in easy reach of Oban, and the very changeable weather can produce great light, so there's photographic opportunity there. The main tourist attraction claim seems to be the bird life, although I have to say when I was there I didn't think Stewart Island (around Oban) had significantly more bird life than some parts of the main land. However, one of the adjacent small islands is a wildlife reserve and has an aggressive pest control program. Here the birds are very approachable and it makes a great day trip. It is a short water taxi ride from Oban.

One more thing, if you like rollercoaster rides then you'll love the ferry trip across the Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. If you even get slightly sea sick I'd recommend taking a plane.

 

[bpaties]

George, funny you should mention Stewart Island because I had lunch with a Kiwi expat today and he is going "home" to Invercargill tomorrow. In the course of our conversation he mentioned Stewart Is, in the context of it having about one good day a year (compared with about 3 for Invercargill). When asked why anyone would go there he said that it has "rugged beauty" and "wildlife that you don't find anywhere else". Apparently you can day-trip from the mainland and there are holiday houses etc, so it is probably a very interesting place to visit if you find yourself in that part of the world ... and you have plenty of warm and wind-proof clothes ...

 

[Sean]

Let me know if you go for it, I've always wanted to go there so maybe we could split costs..

 

[Vaughn]

It is an incredible place. I can remember putting my pack down along one of the tracks (hiking trails) and just sitting there listening to the birds. Rugged is the proper word. The tracks can be a bit muddy (warning...understatement alert!). The two tramps (hikes) I took there (1975 and 1982) were not extensive -- only from Oban to the Christmas Village Hut. My walk up the tallest "mountain" was good -- actually had a view from up there, as the weather can be iffy. I regret not hiking the whole loop, but since the reasons I did not had to do with positive experiences of the female variety, I guess I shan't complain (ah, to be in my 20's again!)

Carrying a 4x5 with me meant that I did not have as much food as I would normally want to carry -- but I could wade out in the ocean at low tide and get abalone to supplement the rice and dried veges. The Silver abs would literally fall off the rocks when I would turn the rocks over. Tasty with butter and dried garlic I had with me.

I wish I could say I got some good images from Stewart Island on that 1982 trip, but my 4x5 has a massive light leak on the back and I never could get a good print from my negatives. I don't think there is any photographic quality to Stewart Island that is totally unique and can't be gotten elsewhere...but the experience of being there is unique.

I enjoyed the boat rides back and forth -- Albatrosses would glide behind the boat the whole way. I did fly one way once -- now that was an experience!

Vaughn

 

[P C Headland]

Here's a link to one of New Zealand's best known landscape photographers and his shots of Stewart Island.

Once you've done Stewart Island, if you want more isolation, you can jump on a plane over to the Chatham Islands.... Then you can come back and enjoy the rest of the country!

Go for it, you'll love it.

 

[George Papantoniou]

Thanks all, you just managed to increase my frustration for not being able to plan a trip to NZ, (at least not right away)...

The weather seems fine I looked at Yahoo.weather for Invercargill (I think it's the closest to S.I. place Yahoo gives a weather forecast) and it showed it'll rain only for two days in the next week or more...

Sean, when I plan a trip there I'll let you know. I don't think it'll be in the next couple of years since I just bought a new car... and have to pay for it

 

[George Papantoniou]

I just found the weather website for Oban... the current temp is 10 deg celcius and it's not raining. The rain that fell this year is 455mm, the same as here where I live (the climate in Athens is considered "dry"...)

Here's Oban's weather Dead Link Removed

Here's Drossia (the Athenian suburb where I live) http://www.pefteixioni.com/

 

[Vaughn]

Hello PC! Thanks for the link! I find I have to explain my statement about Stewart Island not being photographically unique! It is no more (and no less!) beautiful than the rest of the coastline on the southern end of the South Island. I regret having to miss the southern tip on my last trip to NZ (1986/7) when I push-biked for 5 months...but I had a change of plans and got married, so Queentown was about as far south as I got.

Vaughn

 

[jeroldharter]

I lived in Invercargill for six months and spent a weekend on Stewart Island for my wedding anniversary. Certainly a quirky place but not high on my list for photography. Very few roads, the tracks are difficult, lots of sandflies. The rest of the South Island is so wonderful that there is little reason to go to Stewart Island for photography. However, it is a nice place for a getaway to a very remote part of the world and to see kiwis (birds).

Regarding weather information about Invercargill and Stewart Island: don;t believe a word of it. The weather changes on a dime and it is almost always windy. The weather is not cold by Wisconsin standards but the wet and the wind will cool you down. When we were there the weather forecast was always "mostly fine" meaning gails with horizontal rain alternating with sunshine. One day on our walk home from the hospital we saw our steel garbage can bounding down the street like a plastic bag in the wind.

 

[goros]

Hi all,

Some 13 or 14 years ago, I had a small project in Bluff, just opposite Stewart Island. It was exactly this time of the year and the weather, even it was the end of springtime, was pretty nasty, specially windy, with sudden changes. What you see in the background of the picture is Stewart Island. Obviously, the foregroung is myself (forgive me for the picture, it was in my begginings and it was self taken with a minitripod).

Regards

 

[Vaughn]

...snip...Very few roads, the tracks are difficult, lots of sandflies. ...snip

I do seem to recall a few sandflies -- I looked out of the tent one morning and saw a black cloud of them circling right on the other side of the netting, waiting for their morning meat.

Vaughn

 

[John McCallum]

I stumbled upon this, when fooling around with Google Maps...

Does anybody know anything about this southern part of NZ ? Anyone been there ? Is it nice ? Any photo ops ? I wonder how it will feel to live in that far far far away place, with only 400 inhabitants... The photos I saw in the Wikipedia article really excited me. I was wondering whether I could ever be able to make a trip to NZ and particularly Stewart Island...

George, Stewart Island is a really beautiful part of the world. It only been inhabited for a couple of hundred years, by relatively few people and so it has a very untouched feel about (by NZ's standards). There are endless photo opportunities.

Rob Brown, a colour photographer has put together probably the best collection of images on Stewart Island of anyone. He recently published a book called "rakiura" which I highly recommend for its content and excellent print quality. It is organised into sections of images of Sand, Forest, Stone and also has extensive text on tramping there - which he has done for years with a LF camera - and general info on the wilds of the island itself. Published by Craig Potton http://www.craigpotton.co.nz/products/published/books/booknzscenic/ssofstewartislandlimpbound
Happy to help if there is any specific info you'd like to know about the island.

 

[George Papantoniou]

Thank you John... I hope that in a few years I'll be able to visit... I'll let you know...