It's strange to be back on the road again. Stewart island has been my 'home' for nearly 4 weeks and it's been a year since I've stopped in one place for that long. Adjustment and fitting in become middle names when travelling for so long though.
My disappointment over the North West Track has tempered - I've had a nice, quiet, restful time since. I've managed to eat an inordinate amount of chocolate and biscuits, had a great time saying goodbye to my fellow trampers and I've become a gardener. It took me a lot of thinking when Coral suggested i stay with her and earn my keep by doing jobs. My head said i should move on and see more of New Zealand, while my heart said "I don't want to". The decision was made easier by the fact that i love it on Stewart island, and Coral is a really nice (also smart and occasional dizzy) lady with a house in a great location overlooking the main bay. I vowed i wouldn't do any more DIY - i never said anything about gardening.
So my days have been filled living an almost normal life: working in the garden, cooking, cleaning, shopping, using the computer, watching TV and playing scrabble - it's all been very strange and comforting for me. I've actually managed to win the odd game, I've pleased Coral by removing what felt like 10 tonnes of weeds and I've almost felt part of a community...almost. Occasionally I'd go to the shop and put things on Corals account - I got a strange look when i bought a case of beer (to replace the one we drank - well mainly me). It's not hard to become familiar to a community of only 300 odd people.
I also took a trip to Ulva island - an amazing little island sanctuary that has no cats, dogs, rats, possums etc. The bird life is incredible, which of course delighted my bad bird hobby (i hardly ever remember the bird names).
Sadly time eventually came to move on; my feet are almost healed and I've got a couple of more stops yet in NZ. So i get an early standby flight to Invercargill and get on a bus to Dunedin. It's a sad time - i hope I'm back... i hope I'll see Coral again, it's been lovely staying with her.
