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This morning we headed to Invercargill to drop off all the non-Stewart Island-goers. Then the ferry left for Stewart Island at 9:30. What a fun trip! The water was really choppy, but it was great, aside from 1/2 of my fellow passengers who were puking. I love boats. I also love not getting sea sick. An hour later we were at the island.
It’s really rainy today. After walking to the hostel, I had a quick lunch, threw a few snacks in my daypack and headed out for some hiking. One of the Danes decided to come, so we headed over the hill to the water taxi dock that goes out to Ulva Island. It started hailing, so she decided to turn around. I waited with a few other people for about 10 minutes at the dock, and then a water taxi took us to Ulva Island. The island is a bird sanctuary, and a nature wonderland. It was great to be able to go hiking alone. The island takes about two hours to circle, and wraps around to coves and through the forest. Even though it rained most of the day, it was really fun, and peaceful. I even found a rope swing on the other side of the island. After circling around, I sat in one of the shelters and read and listened to my iPod for an hour, before going back to the dock. What a beautiful island, and the birds are really tame, they just walk around on the ground.
After changing into dry clothes at the hostel, I made a massive cup of coffee (ahhh, warmth) and had toast and Nutella. What a cool day of exploring! After warming up a bit, I walked back through the rain to the supermarket in town. I bought an avocado and tortillas for quesadillas. Yums!