Rakiura Track - 44km (27 miles) - three days - Great Walk 9/9

Our final Great Walk took us to Stewart Island, New Zealand's third biggest Island. Despite being relatively small compared to the North & South Islands, Stewart Island has a pathetically small population for it's land mass. There is only one town, Oban, which has a population of just 387!

Situated below the South Island, the Maori believe Stewart Island (or Rakiura in their language) is the sea anchor holding NZ in place. This sculpture at the start of the track represents this, as well as symbolising the connections between the tribes and the early settlers.

In part, the walk reminded us of the Able Tasman coastline, only with fewer people and an incessant chorus of songs from the plentiful bird life.

During the first day's 14km tramp, we only came upon one other couple; it was complete isolation in paradise.

The track alternated between lush & dense forest and secluded golden bays.

At the site of the first hut there remained an old rickety wharf, a relic of the days when Stewart Island was a whaling and sealing station...

... now a tranquil retreat for tired trampers!

Freshwater draining over the sand to the sea, leaves stunning abstract patterns across the beach.

The Island's most famous bush-dweller also left it's mark upon the sand. Rakiura is home to the largest remaining population of Kiwi birds anywhere in NZ. Due to low numbers of introduced predators, it is possibly the best spot to capture a glimpse of the elusive bird.

As dusk set in, we headed out again in search of kiwi birds. A small fishing boat in the bay was the only light for miles. With the light fading further, despite hearing the kiwi calls, our search was sadly in vain :-(

We did however have a fantastically clear view of the Milky Way, allowing for this insane photograph of the night sky... the southern cross (the constellation featured on the NZ and Australian national flags) is horizontal in the bottom third of the image.

The meaning of 'Rakiura' in Maori is 'Land of the Glowing Sky'. After the night's shimmering stars we awoke to this dramatic sunrise and the translation became obvious!

The following two days, continued through mile upon mile of completely untouched deep, damp jungle. The remoteness and feeling of escape left us in awe of this untouched wilderness. The trip was completed, when during our last night in Oban, Dave (desperate to see a kiwi) walked up to a nearby clearing where he had an awesome encounter with a very shy local - a wonderful wild kiwi came to check him out and was so close in the darkness that he was pecking at his trouser legs! Incredible!!!

So the challenge is complete, Team Yates have tramped or paddled 592km's (367 miles) over 35 days through some of New Zealand's most remote and stunning landscapes. We have have endured just about every weather system you can imagine, sampled nearly every freeze-dried dinner option available, experienced a multitude of snoring styles, enjoyed the company of like-minded people from a plethora of different countries, attempted to wash in too many freezing water sources and generally had the time of our lives!!! Now how about that for an adventure?

The Catlins

The southern tip of the South Island is known as The Catlins. With the exception of Stewart Island, the next land mass when journeying south is Antarctica. The cold wind certainly reminded us of this fact!

The area couldn't have been more different to Queenstown with barely a tourist in sight...

... once again we were walking alone on windswept beaches.

We did have some company though, a pod of Hector's dolphins played in the waves just meters from the shore...

... as evening fell, just a short walk from where we camped, penguins waddled and hopped up from the sea to nest above the tideline.

Dave used his powers of persuasion to get two of the penguins to pose reflectively!

These two love birds were in perfect harmony and happily shared a kiss...Aww...

... less subtle were these two sea-lions, the big male (around 2m in length and weighing half a ton we reckon) was quite keen to have his way with this less than interested female. Their fight was colossal and included a moment when they charged right pass us - they move really fast for such big creatures with no proper legs!

Our time in The Catlins has been a mix of sunshine and tremendous storms, here the clouds can be seen gathering out to sea, we took the hint and headed for the forest.

A 40 min trail brought us to the picturesque McLean Falls, powerful after so much rain!

Our mission to see as much of NZ as possible is quickly being realised, here we stand on another edge of the map - the southern most point of the South Island.

The wind was fierce and by the look of the trees we could tell that it was not for the first time...

... the enormous waves battering the rocks also reminded us that tomorrow we catch a small ferry to Stewart Island for our last Great Walk - we hope our sea legs are as strong as our walking legs!!!

Glenorchy & the Wizard's Vale

Our penultimate full day with Justin, so we headed along the banks of the beautiful Lake Wakatipu towards Glenorchy and the valley of Paradise - a filming location for many of the scenes from The Lord of the Rings.

We visited the forests of Lothlorien, the Dead Marshes, Ithilien, Dimrill Dale and most impressively the valley of Isengard - home of the malevolent wizard Saruman.

We were surrounded by real beauty as well as the fantasy backdrops.

We have had an awesome time with Justin and were sad to see him leave, he was the last of our visitors from home highlighting just how much of the trip has passed by.

Queenstown - A Bird's Eye View

We woke early to a beautiful day. The air seemed crystal clear this morning as went in search of adventure...

Surrounded by the Southern Alps and overlooking the region's deep blue lakes, we felt like we needed to get higher to take in the views... so that's what we did!!!

Dave & Mel each took to the air on a tandem paraglider, with an instructor. From 2400m we basically ran off a cliff to fill the parachute with air, then soared out above the plains below.

The feeling of total weightlessness and the silence of floating through the air left us feeling like we were really flying.

As the earth below warmed the air, we caught the thermals, lifting us higher & higher.

After all of our walking this certainly was a very relaxing way to travel.

Floating across the ridge line provided spectacular views far below.

Despite initial nerves Mel soon had the pilot swooping and spinning on their way to the landing zone! An awesome experience, something neither of us will ever forget!

Justin decided flying like a bird was too tame so decided to drop like a stone instead!!!

A skydive from 15,000ft made the mountains below look like small creases on the Earth's surface.

Soon he was flying like an eagle over the turquoise waters of Lake Wakatipu, what a rush!!!

Isthmus Peak - Wanaka

Time to strap on the boots again: this time we decided to scale Isthmus Peak, a 1389m mountain that sits between Lake Hawea & Lake Wanaka.

With temperatures in the shade up in the high 20's, we were glad of some cloud cover - but it was still hot work! It was a seriously tough grunt, a 16km round trip, but as usual the views made the effort worth while.

The passing clouds left mottled shadows on the deep blue surface of Lake Hawea.

We were greeted at the top with a post and some strong winds so we took some quick snaps and headed back down.

It was good to be able to show Justin our favourite place in NZ, Wanaka. With so many excellent walks and irresistible views, it's easy to see why!

We spent the evening at the cinema, not your normal big screen; here you sit on sofa chairs with a glass of wine and they stop the film half way through to bring out fresh homemade cookies & ice cream - now why can't all cinemas be like this?