Stewart Island – Kiwi Watching Masons Bay & Oban – 20th-24th March 2022

After the Routeburn our group split and went their seperate ways – 5 of us relaxing, recharging and doing some washing in a very comfortable Villa at Lakeside Holiday Park, Te Anau. Highly recommend staying in Te Anau. Lakeside holiday park has excellent accommodation options and top of the range kitchen and bathroom facilities for campers. We of course saw it with minimal other residents due to Covid.

From Te Anau we used the VERY HELPFUL Catch-a-Bus South for the 3hr journey to Invercargill. This is where our plans went into disarray. At 6am next morning when we were due to catch our plane to Masons Bay one of our party woke to feel UNWELL. RAT test showed POSITIVE for Heather; the rest of us ALL testing NEGATIVE.

Into action following COVID Min of Health Guidelines most of which proved USELESS finding that it was pretty much up to us to sort out our own isolation accommodation – away from home; in a strange city; 5 in our group with 1 Covid POSITIVE member.

Luck was on our side and once management from the Tuatara Backpackers where we had spent the previous night arrived on site they did their best to help us. What they were able to provide was far from ideal – all of us sleeping in an 8 bed 4 bunk room not I’m sure meeting Min of Health specifications. A seperate bathroom was cordoned off for COVID POSITIVE Heather. Our group was reduced to 4 with one taking the opportunity to return to Wellington while she still tested NEGATIVE. The rest of us rearranged the positioning of the bunks, cordoning off our sleeping area with sheets so we were in as much isolation as we could muster.

Heather was quite unwell for the next two days but gradually started to feel better each day thereafter. Being Covid NEGATIVE the rest of us were able to explore Invercargill – wearing our masks and following the usual guidelines. The Tuatara has the MOST COMPREHENSIVE SELECTION OF EXCELLENT CRAFT BEERS that my husband (a craft beer expert) has ever seen. Most of which have now been sampled by the Trip Leader and her husband.

Invercargill offered much to explore during our unexpected 4 days there;

Vehicle World, the iLT Sports Stadium, H & J Smith Department Store; fresh Bluff oysters/blue cod and a 2 1/2hr coastal walk in Bluff being only a few of the highlights I’d go back to any day.

Covid left Heather as quickly as it arrived and we were able to catch our scheduled flight back to Wellington only for my husband to wake next morning finding that he now tested POSITIVE for Covid.

Isolating in the comfort and space of your own home is definitely preferable.

Helen Bassett, Trip Leader