Sunday, February 13, 2011

Oban, Stewart Island, New Zealand Feb.13, 2011

Our last New Zealand stop was made today at the very small, third New Zealand Island, called Stewart Island.  I never knew that there was a third island to new Zealand, but now I know.

The only settlement is Oban, a community of less than 500 people.   The ship couldn’t dock here so we went ashore on the tenders.  We had to climb a couple of long steep hills to get to the settlement, Oban.  Barbara, who came with me turned back because she couldn’t handle the steep inclines, so I latched on to Jim and a couple of others.  Other than the beautiful scenery and a lot of lovely birds, the only other 2 attractions were a small museum and a little store.  We also climbed up another hill to a lookout point where we had a beautiful view to the surrounding countryside, the bay and the ship.  We met some very nice people from Wellington N.Z. and had a lovely chat.  You meet such interesting people when you travel and every one is eager to share stories.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow – we are sailing along the western coast of South Island through the Fjords.  It is supposed to be really beautiful – also cold.  Today I wore 2 pullovers and a jacket plus a hat and was comfortable.  That should be sufficient when I stand on deck to see the sights.  I’ll probably wear gloves as well though, I was wishing I had today.

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