Stewart Island is at the very southern tip of New Zealand, just 19 miles off the coast of the South Island.

(image via)

Several guides on the Stray bus circuit explain that Stewart Island is part of the Maori creation myth of New Zealand. According to their mythology, the demigod Maui was fishing in his canoe (represented by the South Island) and his fishing rod pulled up a giant fish (represented by the North Island). Stewart Island represents Maui’s anchor in the canoe. There’s a more in-depth explanation here.

Only four of us from the Stray bus make the journey to Stewart Island. We take a ferry from Invercargill to Oban just before sunset.

The next morning we go for a long walk around Oban, which is the main town in Stewart Island.

A woodsy shot from my Instagram stream (username = AsHerWorldTurns):

Here are my new Stray friends! Sylvia from Portugal, Michelle from Missouri, and Lee from Germany.

When in season, this movie theater plays only one film: A Local’s Tail. It’s a portrait of their Stewart Island community, as narrated by a dog.

We pop into the visitor’s center to read up on where to find the elusive Kiwi bird. These nocturnal aviary species are difficult to spot but their population is higher in Stewart Island than the rest of the country, so you never know…

The final paragraph on this kiwi spotting guide below makes me laugh:

According to this signage in our hostel, it rains on Stewart Island 265 days of the year. We are very lucky to encounter mostly sunshine during our 24 hours on the island.

This church is incredibly picturesque.

There is a mailbox in the local grocery store where locals can pick up their mail. About 400 people live on the island, according to the 2006 census.

I spot this little guy as we board the ferry to return to the South Island:

And that wraps up our time in Stewart Island. It was a quick trip but very special to see a more remote region of the country.