Tramping in the deep south

We had only one night in Queenstown to prepare for the adventures ahead of us in the deep south. I desperately needed a raincoat that is actually waterproof and fortunately mac pac had a Christmas sale on and I got a fabulous red raincoat which is tear resistant as well. I also took the opportunity to get a base layer. Marielle was talked into buying some gaiters which surprised me because normally she is very careful and precise with her spending. While in Queenstown we met up with Andrew and Emily who I shared a room with in Auckland. We first met up in the cafe with the finest hot chocolate in town. Then later for a drink in a random bar. Andrew offered to look after our bags while we went on our southern circuit because he is awesome like that. It turned out the hostel could look after them and wasn't charging for the service so all good. Since we were doing some tramping we were taking only the essentials. I practically only had one set of clothes so it's a good job the great outdoors doesn't have a problem with me smelling bad.
So for our trip south we were in a much smaller bus and with less people. First stop was Dunedin and the speights brewery tour. The highlight of this was where we got 30 minutes to sample the beer. It's fun being a lightweight. I also got to run down the steepest street in the world. Don't worry, Marielle recorded it so you'll get to see it eventually.
The next day had us travelling to Invercargill. One of stops was at lake Wilkie where the distant roar of the sea provides the backdrop for the cacophony of birdsong in the lush forest. The lake is over centuries shrinking and being reclaimed by the forest. This is a fascinating and sensitive ecological phenomenon. We also got to see some sea lions on a beach and taste a spicy leaf off a tree which we then used in our evening meal.
The final stop was our campsite at curio bay which was near some yellow eyed penguins. There is a yellow line you are forbidden to cross to avoid disturbing them. So there we were lying in our tent when we heard a rustling sound. "I think the penguin is stealing our food." This is a camping first for me. We brought all our plastic bags in the tent and all was well.
On the morrow we had a surfing lesson on the beach. The surf school assures you that 99% of their students stand and sure enough the conditions were good and I stood while riding a wave. We are the 99%! We were sharing our surfing bay with a pod of dolphins. We took some time out to gaze upon these playful creatures. They swam straight past us and one even touched Marielle's hand. 
In Invercargill we left even more of our stuff before going to Stewart island. This included my razor and phone charger (anything to save weight).  We took the ferry, booked some huts and  we were off on our first tramp. We left our tent at the island hostel.  At this point were storing luggage in 3 separate hostels which felt like a cool statistic.
We had been told to expect torrential rain on Stewart island but the weather was actually warm and sunny. We hauled our backpacks to the first hut along a pleasant coastal path. At night we joined a group at the hut on a kiwi search but to no avail. The next day was an inland route that has been used by the Maori back in the day as they moved with the seasons. Once again we had a look for kiwis at dusk without success. We did however find some mussels on the beach and once again we enjoyed the rich bounty of the sea. We also played the one sentences story game and made quite an impression on the other trampers with our bizarre tale. The third day involved some beautiful beaches and Marielle even found some kiwi footprints in the mud.
When we got back to Oban (the  settlement on the island) we had a night camping in the garden of the hostel. A young local salmon farm worker by the name of Mitch wandered in with a big box of beer. We joined him for some friendly banter and one thing led to another and before we knew it he was taking everyone on a kiwi spotting tour. This took us to every green open space in the area with torches covering all angles. Once again we were disappointed.
So now I realise that despite not being in the deep south that long we still did a huge amount of stuff. So this blog will have to be split in two. But first I'll lead up to an exciting cliffhanger for your reading pleasure. So after Invercargill we went to Milford Sound which isn't a sound but is actually a fiord. A sound is a valley made by a river that has been reclaimed by the sea. A fiord is the same but made by a glacier and is therefore bigger and more impressive.  Milford sound is the most visually stunning part of New Zealand. It has huge rocky walls that reach up into the sky. Then there's all the waterfalls some of which don't reach the sea because they are swept into the air by the strong wind. The water from this area is very pure and the mountains are popular with base jumpers. After our cruise out onto the fiord we were back on the bus towards Queenstown. However, on our long journey back the bus stopped and left us and a guy Marielle assumed was Dutch in the middle of nowhere...