Stewart Island Part I (Now with pictures!)

Although we are having a difficult time figuring out our internet connections down under, I think we need to get something posted, so here goes. We have pictures (and they are good), but they are not on this computer, so ... At any rate, we took our biggest trip yet to Stewart Island, the 3rd island down at the bottom of New Zealand. Their main "season" was just ending, so we arrived in typical Selbies fashion. After driving straight from work Friday afternoon at 2:00 pm to Wellington, parking in long term parking, riding the shuttle bus, we just made it. Thank heavens there is no security to go through for in-country NZ flights. We flew down to Invercargill, checked in to the old Railroad Hotel, then went out for a bite. This town has more boy racers on the streets than anywhere I am sure. This includes the main street where they would REALLY race from stoplight to stoplight. Police - nuh-uh. New Zealanders also all seem to be saving money on their heating bills, even the restaurants. On the other side of the coin, everyone and everyplace has electric blankets on the beds. When we got back to our hotel, the landlady loaned us their copy of the DVD "The World's Fastest Indian" about the guy from Invercargill who set a motorcycle record at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

The next day we got up bright and early and headed back to the airport for our little flight to Stewart Island. A nice man behind the Stewart Airlines counter checked us in. Then he went around to another door, greeted us and took our luggage. He weighed our luggage, then had us stand on the scale and weighed us. Seriously. Then he went to another place, took our tickets and escorted us to the plane. Then he got into the Pilot's seat - well actually he got in the co-pilot's seat and then appeared to talk a student through the process of flying us over the roughest stretch of water in the world to Stewart Island. It was an 8 seater plane. Lynda and I sat right behind the co-pilot and sudent, er, pilot. If we could post the movie, it would be here ... "Switch up, no, switch up, yes, now easy there. Good, check flaps now, etc, etc.."

On arrival we were met by a van to take us to the only hotel on the island, The South Seas Hotel. Conjures up a great image, doesn't it. And our room on the second floor over the pub looked right out on the bay. Although the basket of ear plugs on a table outside our room was definitely not-so-subtle foreshadowing. We did look out on the giant chess board by the "beach" which really made our little town look right out of "The Prisoner" for fans of that old Patrick McGoohan TV show.

We went down after stowing our bags and got a coffee from the ... GERMAN GIRL working there. We, of course, told her, auf Deutsch, about our alteste tochter in die goldschmied schule in Hanau.

Well, that might be a good place to stop and make sure I can post this. There's a lot more to come from Stewart Island and we are already 10 days past that. Isabelle, send Mom another set of directions for how she can become a poster. Next up, our visit to Ulva Island.