On to Stewart Island

Sunday 11 July 2010

Mom and I got our stuff ready and went to the bus stop. We had to await the arrival of the bus. Thus far, we had the Naked Bus line (I know it sounds bad, but apparently it is named because it is "stripped" of all the extra costs). This time we had InterCity. We got on and rode to Gore. Through the pass, it was really icy. In fact, the bus driver had to call a connecting bus and say he would be late. He had never seen it so icy. We were on the connecting bus, so we were really glad they would wait for us.

We took the bus all the way to Invercargill. This is almost at the bottom of the South Island. We went into the i-site to get warm. We met Alison and decided to look around town for a bit. We then came back (the city does not have much to speak about) and got a coach ride from Invercargill to Bluff (the very tip of the South Island). The bus driver was picking up people, but they were not there, so he called someone. He found out he needed to pick them up at the airport. He was obviously upset, because when he got there, he asked us, "Do you see any stupid people around?" We were silent.

We had to throw our luggage into big bins and then check into the ferry terminal. There were only a few people there and most of the people lived on Stewart Island (which is where we were headed, by the way). It took about an hour boat ride to get there. Alison and I were hearing horror stories about the boat ride. Well, maybe not horror stories, but every time someone would ask us how we were getting to Stewart Island, they always gave us a look and say, "Oooooohhhhhh." We were getting really nervous, but the ride was perfect. Although, we concocted quite a story for the Captain and his wife and sent it as a text.

We actually got a complimentary ride to our hostel (which was only about a two minute walk from the wharf). It was a bed and breakfast called Jo & Andy's. It was really cute and the couple were adorable. They had so many stories they shared. Andy (the husband) was from the States. Jo (the wife) was a missionary child who was born in New Zealand. Her parents went to India, and she followed them shortly after at the age of 2. She was the youngest passenger to travel by herself. She really has had an amazing life. It was fun to just listen to them.

We went out for dinner, then went back and played phase 10 until about 10pm. We had a mission. We were hoping to see the Southern Lights. As soon as we walked outside, we saw an incredible amount of stars. I saw Scorpio. It was the only one I could identify clearly, well, besides the Milky Way. We travelled way out to darkness. It was so dark, we could only feel if we were on the road by our feet. Alison and I got down in the middle of the road to look up at the stars. We were just hoping no cars would come by, or we would really have to move fast.

Well, fortunately we did not encounter car while we were on the road, but we did not see any Southern Lights. So, we just returned home. Mom and I realised that although there were two bathrooms, there was only one toilet. So 5 people shared one toilet. Interesting.