Stewart Island – we’re coming for you!
Up at 5.00am for an early departure, what a beautiful sunrise to signal the end of our amazing time in Fiordland. We were looking at about a 12/13-hour sail to Bluff and it was such a lovely smooth cruise for a few hours. If only it could have stayed like that! By the time we hit Foveaux Strait those waves were back again, and we were crashing all over the place. Nick, Kate and the kids are meant to be meeting us in Bluff, but now the plan is changing. The port engine alarm has gone off and it’s showing low on oil, slightly concerning as it was topped up before our departure this morning. So now that’s been switched off and the headsail put up, but it’s slowed us right down which means we won’t arrive in Bluff until dark. Geoff has looked at his charts and manuals and they don’t advise coming into Bluff in the dark, so it’s now a turnaround and we’re heading over to Stewart Island….slowly. We should arrive before dark and that’s 5 hours away in these waves.
We finally pulled into Waituna Bay, east of Codfish Island, on the west coast of Stewart Island around 8.30pm and it was a relief to get into a bit of calmer water. An early dinner and then into bed….it’s been a long day!
Stewart Island is New Zealand’s third-largest island, located 30 kms south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a land area of 1,746 km² and its 164-kilometre coastline is indented by Paterson Inlet, Port Pegasus and Masons Bay. Rakiura National Park comprises of 85% of the island and in 2019, Stewart Island was awarded Dark Sky Sanctuary accreditation by the International Dark Sky Association for its outstanding sky quality, and being accredited with Sanctuary Status it helps to ensure that light pollution levels are controlled, and the natural nightscape is protected. We are looking forward to seeing some amazing starry skies whilst we are here, along with all sorts of beautiful scenery, walks and wildlife. We’re here until the end of January so we will have plenty of time to experience all of this. Lots more to come…..keep checking back!