Oban, Stewart Island
After yesterday’s forest walks and beach rambles, we eased back into civilisation with our visit to New Zealand’s southernmost town. The small village of Oban is the only settlement on Stewart Island, which is otherwise covered with the dense forest of Rakiura National Park. The plant life here is less-modified than on New Zealand’s North and South Islands, due to the presence of fewer introduced mammals on Stewart Island.
The small community of about 300 has traditionally made its living from fishing, but recently tourism has also become a significant employer. There is no high school on the island, only 17km of roads, and the single policeman is far more occupied with search and rescue tasks than with crime. Many hikers come to Stewart Island to explore the extensive network of tracks and backcountry huts, although one doesn’t need to go too far out of town to find a lovely place for a walk. We explored one of tracks in the coastal forest that crowds in on the village, passing the burrows of sooty shearwaters and little penguins as we went. A freshening westerly wind then accompanied us as we sailed out into Foveaux Strait, with our course now permanently set for the north and the increasing diversity of New Zealand’s main islands.
