Those darned Seals and elusive Kiwis!
Saturday 18 January
It’s a bit of a grey chilly Southland day today – such a change from last night. Time to move on then. Off we motored, past Shelter Point, Rukawahakura Island, the Muttonbird Islands and now we’re heading into Tikotahai Bay where it looks like we can get off the boat and have a walk. Frustratingly the rain came in so that walk never eventuated and it’s turned out to be a great day to wear my Hunting and Fishing fleece. Lunch and a read in bed with a cuppa (fully clothed and complete with socks – it’s chilly).
Sunday 19 January
“What a difference a day makes…24 little hours, brought the sun and the flowers, where there used to be rain” as the Dinah Washington song goes. It’s an absolute stunner of a day today after our miserable one yesterday, so we’re up and off to Kaika Bay. There are so many amazingly beautifully, golden sandy beaches and bays around here – all of them empty! How lucky are we to be mobile and able to take our pick of them.
We loaded up with a few beers, sausages, ketchup, frying pan and flints and we’re off to cook them and toast marshmallows on the beach. It was awesome just sitting there, the sea all shades of turquoise and deep navy, Salanjo sitting in the bay with her metal parts glinting in the sunshine and feel the lovely warmth of the sun. The fire lit, Geoff on sausage duty, followed by the boys toasting their marshmallows. It was all going so well until, like the movie “Jaws” dur dum, dur dum, dur dum – a huge male seal came swimming around the corner. We all leapt into the bushes behind us and sat quietly as we watched it languidly swim the length of the beach and fortunately go around the rocks just behind the dinghy. Crisis averted. For now.
No sooner had we thought the coast was clear and then back it came, and back we all went to hide, sitting silently amount the thistles, flax and greenery. Only this time it didn’t swim past, it decided to beach itself, unfortunately, not too far from the dinghy. So, we sat, and sat, and sat, and it was looking like it might be a long afternoon, until we noticed the dinghy, which had just been pulled up onto the sand, had started to drift a little into the water! We couldn’t afford to lose it so Geoff and Nick stealthily went though the bushes and came around the other side to it, keeping a good eye on our friend, whilst Kate, myself and the boys quietly got up, picked up the remains of lunch, threw sand on the fire and walked to the other end of the beach where the guys came in with the dinghy and we all threw ourselves in. We’ve lived to fight another day!
Nick, Kate and the boys’ last night and we had one more experience on the list to knock off. We haven’t seen the elusive southern brown kiwis, known as tokoeka, yet. There are plenty of tracks where they pop out at night, so armed with our red-filtered headband torches as we didn’t want to scare them away with bright white light, off we went. It wasn’t quite dark as we made our way up the track and found a spot to sit quietly to wait and listen. Kiwi calls are distinct which is often the best indicator of their presence. Males emit high-pitched whistles, while females produce guttural tones. So, we waited, and waited, and waited, hearing a few calls in the distance, but certainly nothing near us. By 10.45pm we gave up! Thwarted! Never mind, the outing was fun, and we did our best.
Monday 20 January
Big day today, Nick, Kate and the boys are leaving and Mike, Jacqui and their kids are arriving. A frantic morning to get them all packed and into the dinghy for a 9.00am check in for their flight from Stewart Island to Invercargill. As soon as they had left I bundled all the sheets and towels into the laundry bag and sorted out the shopping bags and my shopping list ready to attack the laundry and the provisions. Geoff came back with the news that the fuel guy was on the wharf and that we had to get over to refuel before the ferry came in from Bluff, so it was all systems go. Fenders out, anchor up and we were off. Over to the dock and the guy was waiting for us, we tied up the boat and spent a bit of time trying to get the nozzle of the fuel pump over as far as the starboard side, 300 litres in and then we swapped it over to the port side. A very sensitive nozzle, it all spurted out and I was doused with fuel, but no time to waste, we got it filled. The water was also on the wharf but slightly behind where we were – and as luck would have it, who should appear just when we needed help - our friend Alan! I got off the boat and between us we pulled it far enough back, so the water hose was able to reach the tank on the port side. No time to waste with the ferry appearing in the distance. We got the port tank filled and then I jumped on back on, handed Ian the laundry, back onto the wharf and we let the ropes go so Geoff could get off the wharf in time for the ferry to dock.
Then it was a search for somewhere to get the laundry done, Twelve sheets and plenty of towels from the last three weeks of guests, so no mean feat. I popped into the Visitor’s Centre and asked if they knew of anywhere. Bingo, the Backpackers might be able to help if I speak to them nicely. So, I trotted off with the laundry and the jerry can for dinghy fuel at the garage next door. And yes, I spoke very nicely, almost begged, and the lady said we could use their laundry facilities at a charge. Frustratingly, there were only two machines and one was out of order! So that took care of my next few hours, as people started lining up to get theirs in and I had to stay and guard the machine, the last thing I wanted was the cycle to stop when I wasn’t there, and someone pull the laundry out and get theirs in! So that was a busy job, followed by a huge supermarket shop, two trollies – one full of laundry and the other full of groceries. In the meantime, Geoff was back on the boat, frantically cleaning and tidying up. I said to the cashier in Four Square that I was probably their biggest customer for the day, to which she agreed, but did mention that some guy had been in and purchased twelve bottles of wine earlier – Geoff of course! By the time I finished I could see the ferry with Mike and family, pulling into the dock. The lady in Four Square wouldn’t let me take the trollies out to the wharf, so there was nothing for it – I had to take all the shopping bags in a relay down to the beach, down the bank and pile them up on the sand waiting for Geoff to bring the dinghy in. Fortunately, with the 5 bags already on the beach, by the time I staggered out with the first of the two boxes, two guys drinking next door in the South Seas Hotel, came over to help and kindly carried them down to the beach for me. Once Geoff had picked up the family and taken them to the boat, he came back to the beach for me and the groceries. What a day – full pelt. But now we’re all back on the boat, fully stocked up and ready for more delightful experiences. We’ve motored over to Paterson Inlet and anchored for the night.
