Kiwi Land, Part IX

Location: Stewart Island Backpackers

Date: 1 June 2012

Time: 11:00 PM

It was really warm in the cabin when I went to sleep at Gunn’s Camp, but I woke up absolutely freezing.  The stove ran out of coal overnight, and the uninsulated rooms quickly lost heat.  So that made it a bit slow to get up, but I eventually meandered my way to the kitchen (way too cold to attempt a shower) and gulped down my oatmeal before I got on the bus.

More scenery as we headed south

'Skies of blue'

'Trees of green'

The next stop was Invercargill, which claims to be the most southern city in the world (over 50,000 or something).  You might recall the name from The Fastest Indian, the (Sir) Anthony Hopkins movie about Burt Munro (from Invercargill) and how he brought his modified Indian motorcycle to the salt flats to break the land speed record for his class.  (It’s a great movie, by the way.)  One of the replica bikes from the film is on display in Invercargill, and I had just enough time to snap a photo of it.

Burt Munro's world record motorcycle (film replica)

The Indian Scout, similar to the motorcycle Burt started with

The hardware store…. If you’re like me, something as simple as a properly stocked hardware store can get you really excited.  (Think Masse’s, Swartz’s, etc.)  Well, how about a hardware store that’s half vintage motorcycle museum?  Imagine that between the isles of tools, fasteners, and all the other little gizmos and materials you could imagine were dozens of vintage and classic motorcycles and other automotive memorabilia.  That’s where the Indian was on display, shrouded in its dusty red aerodynamic fish-like cover.  The replica is just like the real thing.  The asbestos insulation is even worn away on the exhaust pipes from where Burt’s legs rubbed.  I loved this museum.  There was also a Chevelle, a Belair, a corvette (one of only four right-hand drive models of that type), and some vintage trucks.  It’s a really good thing we don’t have a hardware store like this back home, otherwise trips would take forever.

The world's greatest hardware store

Dirty and well worn, the way it should be

Thunderbird...

After Invercargill, those of us who were staying on Stewart Island drove another half hour to Bluff, where the ferry leaves.  Bluff is a small and not so attractive industrial town, home to New Zealand’s largest Aluminum smelter (NZ’s fifth largest export).  The one-hour ferry ride was pretty choppy, but not nearly as bad as the ride back from the reef on ScubaPro II.

The view from the bluffs at Bluff

After dinner at the Stewart Island backpackers, a few of us ventured into the woods to try to spot Kiwi birds.  The island is supposed to be full of birds, which we heard but never saw.  The Kiwi spotting ended up being much like the glowworm adventure as we trekked through the muddy woods in pitch black.  An expert birdwatcher I am not.  It was drizzling, so our search didn’t last so long anyway.