Today the gods smiled on me. There was very little wind which made for a pretty easy crossing of the Fovreax Strait. We hit the ferry dock at 9:00am for a 9:30am departure for a one hour crossing.
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| Stirling Point |
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| Stewart Island |
We were met at the dock by the motel and after a quick tour of the downtown area were taken to the motel. Our room is a nice little studio with a kitchen with a view of the bay.
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| View from our room |
Once we were settled in we walked down to the wharf and checked into a cruise around Patterson Inlet. There was one leaving at 12:45 so we decided to spend the afternoon on the water. The weather wasn't really condusive to a cruise as it was lightly raining. However, it rains here 3-4 days a week so we didn't think we could be too choosey. Even with the rain it turned out to a nice trip as we got to see some pretty amazing coast line, a history of the area and wildlife that we had not seen yet.
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| Our Ride |
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| End of the road on Stewart Island |
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| Blue Penguin |
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| Blue Penguin |
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| Albatross |
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| Albatross |
One portion of the cruise was a stop at Ulva Island which is in Patterson Inlet. The island is now a marine reserve for plants and birds. The island is predator free which is allowing some of the birds that were near extinction to make a comeback. We got to spend about an hour on the island as part of a guided tour. We couldn't see that much in an hour and we plan to go back over to do some freedom hiking before we have to catch the ferry back to Bluff.
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| Golden Bay |
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| Stewart Island Weka |
When the cruise was over we made a quick stop at the grocery story before returning to the motel. As were getting dinner ready we were visited by a couple of unique young fellas.
The Kaka is a large parrot that stands anywhere from 43 - 48 centimeters high. They are a very trusting bird and will actually take peanuts from your hand. It was just as much fun watching the people watching the birds as it was watching the birds.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to take a bus trip around the area.
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