It is quite a journey to get to Stewart/Rakiura Island from our place. Early in the morning, we drove to Wellington airport where we left our car at the long-term car parking area. From Wellington, we flew to Invercargill and from the Invercargill airport we were picked up by the shuttle bus and taken to the Bluff ferry terminal. Once in Bluff, we had some spare time on our hands, before the ferry departure, which we used to purchase a couple of gas bottles needed on the track for cooking. After an uneventful flight and shuttle ride, we were looking forward to our first time crossing Foveaux Strait. Due to a small, 1-meter swell in the strait, the skipper advised passengers to take the seats at the back of the ferry which would make the trip less bumpy. It took us an hour to reach Oban, the main settlement on the island with its famous South Sea Hotel.
Day 01
According to DOC information, it takes 3-4 hours to reach Port William Hut from the end of Lee Bay Road.
Many walkers use some sort of transportation to get themselves from Halfmoon Bay to the beginning of the
track. We decided against it and we walked from Oban to Lee Bay Road. This way we had the opportunity to see
parts of the island we would not experience if traveling by car, mainly Bathing Beach, Motoroa Moana Native
Gardens and Horseshoe - Braggs Bay. The track to Port William very much resembles the Abel Tasman Track. It
constantly switches between well-established walkways through New Zealand's beautiful bush and beach
walks. Upon reaching the tip of Peters Point we walked down to Maori Beach.
Between 1913 and 1935 the Maori Beach area was a busy settlement with a sawmill.
We took a quick look at the remains of the old equipment used by the mill (closed in 1931) and continued
toward Magnetic Beach. An easy stroll along Maori Beach to the swinging bridge followed by climbing up
forested ridges and a drop to the Port William Hut finalised our day one on the track.
Day 02
We started the second day by retracing the last 45 minutes of our previous day's walk. The climb up seemed to be much quicker than anticipated. At the crossroads, we took the right turn, towards the well-signed posted Long Haulers (steam winches) left behind after milling ended. Before the trip, we had been reading a lot about the infamous mud on the track between Port William and North Arm Hut. We were well prepared for it, both physically and mentally. On this stretch of the track we wore borrowed gaiters. Luckily for us, even though the big parts of the track were muddy we did not encounter any seriously deep patches. It was hard work trying to stay clean and dry. A lot of our attention was dedicated to watching our steps instead of enjoying the surrounding bush. On this walk, we also learned the real meaning of the phrase 'undulating track'. By the end of the day, it was a dirty phrase. The constant steps going up and steps going down made our day somewhat tiring. The halfway tree was marked with a fishing buoy. After almost 6 hours of slow walking the view of the North Arm Hut was a welcome sign.
Day 03
Back to the 'undulating track' that follows the coast to the isolated bays, with the first stopover at Sawdust Bay. The place is located 1.5 hours from the North Arm hut and is well known as a great spot to watch birds feeding at low tide. After leaving the bay behind us we almost immediately stumbled upon an interesting formation of big boulders looking totally out of the ordinary, as if they were dumped there by some giants and forgotten forever. Following another 60 minutes of ups and downs we reached Gallon's Sawmill, considered to be Rakiura Island's first sawmill. Unfortunately, the area is a part of private land with restricted access so we could not see any parts of the mill. For lunch, we stopped at Kaipipi Bay where we enjoyed the views across the waterway. From Kaipipi Bay the track transforms itself into a wide, well-maintained avenue. As it was still early we decided to extend our walking day by an extra couple of hours and return to Oban by Ryans Creek Track. An excellent decision. At the beginning the track winds through the forest but upon reaching the ocean it leads to Halfmoon Bay on high ridges along the shoreline providing fantastic views. The track finishes at the end of Thule Road and it took us another half an hour or so to get to our accommodation at Stewart Island Backpackers.