We got up on the boat in the morning to more rain & low clouds & a proper English brekkie of eggs, toast, mushrooms, tomato, bacon & bangers. We motored back to the harbor & marveled at all of the crashing waterfalls. We had 330ml of rain in the past 12 hrs. or just under 6 inches or a little less than a half bottle of wine. We said goodbye at the dock, boarded our bus to return to our boat to cross Lake Manapouri. Once in Manapouri, we headed towards Bluff, the southern most point on the South Island and the point where you catch the Ferry to Stewart Island. We drove through more rolling countryside filled with sheep and cows. We decided to take the 5 pm ferry. The ferry is named the Stewart "Experience." And it was quite an "experience" and not for the faint-hearted. Also, to be correct, our boat was not a typical ferry. It does not take cars, only people and was a large catamaran, not a typical ferry boat. The seas are normally a bit rough for the crossing, (emphasis on rough), but the winds were only at 25-30 knots. This is considered good? Thank God the ride is only 1 hour. For the first 20 minutes we bounced over 8 foot swells which felt like a roller coaster ride leaving butterflies in the pits of our stomachs. Vic laid down and fell asleep. Tracy gripped the seat and focused intently on the horizon. Apparently, it's best to stand up near the back of the boat, but no one told us that. So, we sat in the front where all the empty seats were located. Our clue should have been that all of the locals were sitting in the back of the boat & were waiting for the bar to open! It felt like we were in an episode of the "Deadliest Catch." At some point, they opened the beverage bar in the back that served hot coffee, tea and other drinks. This was quite laughable, as no one could possibly walk back there and manage to keep their coffee in a cup! In what seemed like an eternity, but was probably more like 30 minutes, we could see the outline of Stewart Island on the horizon, which gave Tracy some much needed positive reinforcement. We pulled into the Wharf in Stewart Island shortly thereafter and wobbled off the boat. We were greeted by our host, Kath who whisked us off to the Rakiura Retreat. Mona the manager had been on the ferry & apologized profusely for not introducing herself. She had good reason to be distracted as she was returning from a funeral in Bluff. Two friendly fellows were staying at the lodge already. They were on the island building small hotel units for Kath. Wayne & Dan were eating dinner & drinking wine after working in the rain all day. We headed down to the only place to eat & drink in Oban, the South Sea Hotel & Pub. We had a great seafood chowder, spaghetti carbonara & some world famous raw Bluff oysters. Excellent. Since neither of us were feeling in tip top shape we took a lot home. We then crossed over into the bar area where some local fisherman were drinking, cussing & telling stories. Tracy wanted to go over to talk to them but she sometimes causes fights in bars so I made her behave. We instead got on the Internet & sent out several days of posts. Back at the lodge Wayne was still sipping wine & he & Tracy had a spirited discussion about the years he lived in Wyoming & sheared sheep for a living. Finally off to bed. Our Kiwi Spotting tour was canceled because of the wind. We decided to leave a day early because a really big blow was coming in. They don't run the ferry when the winds average over 50 knots. They were predicting an average greater than 60 w/ gusts over 75. Tracy was already turning green & it wasn't envy.
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