Our final day on the Rakiura Track took us along the north east coast of the island back to the town of Oban. We had another beautiful morning and despite a quick passing squall we had clear skies as we made our way along the coast to Māori Beach. After crossing a long swingbridge the track followed the beach for the entire length of the sweeping bay.
At the far end of the beach we came across another reminder of the saw milling industry on the island. The settlement at Māori Beach was one of the last sawmill sites on the island, and although the forest is quickly encroaching on the town and mill site, there are still some remnants scattered through the bush.
From Māori Beach we continued on around the coast, occasionally getting glimpses out across the Foveaux Strait. The beautifully clear turquoise water and the lush vegetation gave the area a tropical feel, although this far south, it is safe to say that even in summer the ocean was anything but a tropical temperature.
The track followed the rocky coastline and despite the constant changes in altitude as we made our way around the various bays and inlets we were able to make good time along this final section of track.
The official end of the Rakiura Track is at Lee Bay where a chain link sculpture marks the end of the Great Walk. The chain represents Te puka o te waka a Maui (the anchor of Maui’s canoe), and according to legend, explains Maui’s discovery of New Zealand when he used Stewart Island as an anchor stone when fishing up the North Island from his canoe (the South Island). Today the island is known as Rakiura which roughly translates as ‘land of the glowing skies’, a reference to the vibrant sunrises and lingering sunset or maybe the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) which can sometimes be seen from the island.
We stopped for a quick break in Lee Bay before continuing on towards the town of Oban where we hoped to seek out a well deserved lunch before boarding the ferry back to the mainland.
We followed the dirt road around Horseshoe Bay, an aptly named bay with beaufiful white sandy beaches.
From Horseshoe Bay the road climbed one last hill giving us great views out towards the town of Oban, our final destination.
After enjoying a tasty lunch of local fish and chips at the pub overlooking the bay, we gathered our belongings and made our way to the wharf to catch the ferry. As we were waiting for the ferry we couldn’t help but stop once again to admire the clear water and abundant marine life. It turned out we weren’t the only ones watching the fish as we spotted this white-faced heron catching a late lunch from under the wharf.
We made our way onto the ferry, having had a great trip to Stewart Island. Despite the reputation for being one of the muddiest tracks in New Zealand, we had been lucky with the weather and had enjoyed our second Great Walk.
As we left the shelter of Half Moon Bay, an Albatross flew alongside the ferry for a while, putting on quite a show as it soared around the boat. The captain commented that you either have a calm crossing or you get to see Albatross. It looked like we were in for a taste of the ‘roaring forties’ on the way back to the mainland!