On the 18th of May, Liam George and I traveled down to Bluff, from there we took the ferry to Stewart Island and boarded 'The Elwing' named after an elf in Lord Of The Rings. 

We slept on the boat but during the day we travelled around Paterson's Inlet, including a visit to the amazing eco sanctuary Ulva Island to see many native birds such as the Kaka and Weka.  We also walked to some old Norwegian whaling stations. On the first night we heard two Kiwi and when we went fishing a few Albatross soared to greet us.

Also on the trip was a boy from Winton and two girls from Denmark, one of whom got slapped in the face by the guts of a Blue Cod Liam had caught.  Arthur White was our skipper who has some very interesting ideas and traits, you’ll know what I mean if you meet him, also a woman named Keren, an American tourist, was first mate on the trip.

We learnt skills to gain Day Skipper's certificates such as what to do in emergency situations and how to navigate the coast line. Throughout the trip the barometer was dropping, forecasting strong winds, the weather got worse and worse and it was raining almost the whole time, but luckily the Foveaux Strait ferry still sailed back to the mainland in very rough weather. Although there is no such thing as bad weather, just insufficient clothing!

Liam and I had a brilliant time and I would encourage anyone wanting to explore the wilderness of New Zealand to do it around Stewart Island aboard Elwing.