Here’s a tip – if you ever travel with me, don’t trust me with directions, ever! Even if I insist that I know where I am going or have a map, do not believe me. Lets just say, our trip to drop the car off before the airport was a little bit of a stressful start to the holiday. For some reason, I was on navigation. We still manage to arrive at the airport in plenty of time and I pass time, just sitting and watching, enjoying seeing the day wake up. It’s been a busy few weeks and Daniel and I have both been unwell. I find that I get tired easily at the moment. It’s a pretty active holiday that I’ve planned, I hope we can manage it.

I am so fortunate to have seen so much of our beautiful country, but there are still many pockets of land to be explored. Today, I am so excited to see one of them. We are heading South, as far South as we have ever been and need to take a couple of flights to get there. Our first stop is Invercargill. We are on a smallish plane, the type you board by walking across the tarmac and up some steps. I can see our pilots in the cockpit and our cabin crew greeting the passengers as they enter – we have an all female crew, including the pilots. That’s pretty awesome!

We leave grey, misty Wellington behind us and step out into a beautiful, sunny Invercargill day. It even feels a little bit warm. We have about 3 hours to pass before our next flight so decide to grab some early lunch (or is it a late breakfast?) and settle in. The cafe has cheese rolls on the menu – I think that’s a must when you’re in Southland!

It’s time to board our next flight. We are greeted by the pilot who checks our tickets and leads us out to the plane. This is a first! This plane is even smaller, taking only 9 passengers. The pilot does the H&S briefing and then we are off. It’s so loud! But we get incredible views of Rakiura. We can see the lush, vibrant green forests, clear water and golden sandy bays. I am surprised by how much I enjoy the flight, given my dislike of flying, but we have perfect conditions and it was only 20 minutes. After landing, we take a complimentary van ride down to the township – also driven by the pilot!

There are 2 ways to get to Rakiura (Stewart Island): A 1 hour ferry from Bluff or a 20 minute flight from Invercargill. Although more expensive, I opted for the flight as I have heard the Foveaux Strait is a very rough stretch of water. I also thought it would be lovely to see Rakiura from the sky (and I was right!)

We are dropped in Oban, the only town in Rakiura, population 400, and walk to our accommodation, We are staying at Stewart Island Backpackers. Accommodation here can be quite pricey. I was thinking of splashing out since this trip was to celebrate my 40th birthday, but really, all I need is a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. I would rather spend less on accommodation and have more to spend on activities and tours. The backpackers is basic, but very comfy, warm, clean and good value for money. A good choice.

We drop off our bags and head out to explore. The town is small, there are a few shops, a small grocery store, pub, library, a couple of cafe’s and gift shops. For such a small town, the place feels very busy. There are lots of people out and about, enjoying the nice weather and returning from multi-day tramps. You can do Rakiura on a day trip, but honestly, if you love the outdoors, go for a few days, there is so much to see here, you won’t regret it.

We walk along Halfmoon Bay. There are many boats anchored in the harbour, bobbing up and down with the tide. It’s very idyllic. We take a short walk up a hill and through some bush, a cheeky little piwakawaka (fantail) joins me and flutters about but doesn’t stay still long enough for a photo. They are sweet little birds. The track leads us down to a little bay called Bathing Beach. The sand is golden, but honestly, I think we have caught it on a bad day. It’s covered in seaweed that’s started to rot and is rather stinky! I feel the water, it feels like the New Zealand water I am used to, cool and fresh. But I am still questioning my decision not to pack my togs. I didn’t think I would need them on a holiday down South in April! It would be the furthest south I have ever swam.

Back in Oban we park ourselves on some outdoor seating at The South Sea Hotel Pub and enjoy a wine while watching the world go by, relaxing & talking. What a perfect view.

As the sun goes down it begins to get cold so we head inside for an early dinner at the restaurant. The dining options on Rakiura are limited, but we found the food at the South Sea Pub here really good. They have lovely wait staff and the food is reasonably priced considering everything has to be shipped across.

Tonight we are booked on a star gazing tour with Twinkle Dark Sky Tours. I have spent the afternoon watching clouds begin to roll in on what was a perfect cloudless sky. So I am surprised to get a call from Al to say the tour is still going ahead. He is hoping the clouds will clear after sunset. He tells me, in the worse case scenario, he will talk to us about the night sky for around 30 minutes, give us a hot chocolate and a refund – so nothing to lose. It’s been a long day, so we head back to our room for a nap while we wait for it to get dark and the tour to start.