Walk 14 - Rakiura Track 'Great Walk' |
|
Day 1: Halfmoon Bay to Port William The Rakiura Track follows a curious mix of surfaces from bitumen to mud; the first section of the track following the sealed road that leads out of the village of Oban for a few kilometres to the north. We left the backpackers to join this section in bright morning sunshine. By the time we reached the bottom of the drive and headed out, it was raining. Such was to be the rhythm of the day; within the first hour, we had been rained on four times and experienced four periods of sunny blue skies - and when the rain squalls passed it was as if someone had turned the shower on and off. Welcome to Stewart Island! |
|
|
|
|
|
As we turned more westward and followed the well-benched blue metal surfaced track around the steep bush-covered shoreline of Lee Bay, a strong squally wind arose and grey clouds chased the sun away - nothing new, but the sound on our wet weather gear was quite a bit chunkier. The shower pipes must have frozen over - it was hailing! Not to worry - ten minutes later and we were in bright sunshine again as we crossed the wooden footbridge over the tannin-stained waters of Little Creek (the locals say that you can have four seasons in a day here; this is a gross exaggeration - you never have summer). |
A short tide-induced detour over a small headland north of Little River gave us our first taste of the famous Stewart Island mud - good practice for the next day - but soon were back on the even metalled track making a gradual climb up and descent down through the forest beyond Little River. Again we went through a brief sun - hail - sun cycle before descending down to the broad expanse of Maori Beach, site of a failed timber cutting venture in the early 20th century. The icy south-westerly squall as we stepped onto the beach announced yet another hailstorm, this time storm being the operative word, as the large hailstones began to carpet the sand of Maori Beach. Luckily we were close to a campsite and could escape the storm under the cooking shelter built there. As expected, twenty minutes later we strolling across the broad greyish sands of Maori Beach under blue skies in the warmth of the sun, the hut at Port William enticing us from across the bay, one beach further along. |
We crossed the swing bridge over the river at the northern end of Maori Beach, turning northward again to climb up and over a spur running down from the island's centre, where tall rimu and southern rata reached out above the broad-leaf kamahi. On reaching the shore of Magnetic Beach, we were please to see that the tide had receded far enough to allow us to rock-hop and sand-stroll our way northward, rather than squish through the mud of the high-tide track. One final heavy hailstorm chased us into the hut clearing; the welcome sight of smoke drifting from its chimney guaranteeing us a warm, dry repose for the rest of the day. |
||
After a late lunch, it seemed that the weather was improving, cloud bands passed over without actually raining on us and the sunny breaks seemed to get longer. We took the chance to wander across a low swampy area of dense, vine-covered bush to Sawyer's Beach, a beautiful isolated spot where we could watch the bull kelp swirling with the rise and fall of the swell, the mollymawks soaring on the ocean winds off-shore and the babbling waters of a small stream cutting its path through the grey sand on the last leg of its journey to the sea. |
|
It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and we were sorry to have to leave, but we did have to - another band of icy rain chased us back to the warmth of Port William Hut. |
|||
|
Day 2: Port William to Halfmoon Bay via North Arm Hut
|
|
|
||
Heading off again, we climbed up and over a series of low ridges as we followed our way along the shore of Paterson's Inlet, although most of the track is enveloped by the dense Stewart Island bush, with only the occasional glimpse of the Inlet waters. Above, the southwesterly wind whistled through the canopy and tree-trunks creaked as they swayed against one another. Alternating once again between boardwalk and mud wallow, we pushed on quickly - our Hump Ridge Track experiences proving of great value, as the mud barely slowed our progress; there always seemed to be a rock, root, carefully placed branch or stone to plow straight through the widest wallows with little loss of speed. |
|||
Soon after our stop we joined up with the wide stoney trace of the old access road from Oban to the long-disused Kaipipi sawmills. Following the road steadily up and then steadily down a long ridge, we found ourselves at the back of Oban village. The signs of human settlement began to replace the native bush. |
|
We enjoyed the Rakiura Track, but, apart from the amazing weather, it was not a track that we would wax lyrical about - a 'Great Track' not a great track. Perhaps our enthusiasm was dulled a bit, having just completed the Hump Ridge Track with its very similar structure of lots of magnificent, pristine and very damp forest with a touch of pleasant coastal scenery. Hump Ridge is a sort of Rakiura Track on steroids, so, depending on whether you want a gentler or tougher experience of these southern New Zealand landscapes, you can choose to do one or the other. |
|
|
|||||
|
||
|