Rakiura, Stewart Island, is a time capsule of New Zealand spirit and culture. It's a place where people know each other's names, kiwi bumble around town and deer walk along beaches. Rusty cars roll along the island's 30km of roading – usually delivering supplies to the wharfs and jettys that connect the island's real transport: boats – big ones and small. Most of them are off on adventures somewhere each day.
It's also home to some unbelievably good diving and that's how I ended up here for the past four days. I'm on assignment with Dive Otago, which has embraced the super clear water and bush-lined bays for its diver training. Virginia, the owner, realised we have an incredible natural resource on our hands with Rakiura, and so around 18 of us took to the bays around Oban and into Paterson Inlet to explore and learn more about the creatures and flora that live here.
One superb encounter was a seven-gill shark that spent an entire day with us as we explored the wreck of the Othello. I'm always a bit nervous when diving with sharks, but this one seemed so cruisy that the nerves soon settled and that made it a tad easier to admire his form and slow, flowing movements.
The water clarity is amazingly good – with the native bush running right to the edge of the shoreline almost everywhere. On one dive off Ulva Island – in the marine reserve – we found a heap of big fat blue cod. They were very relaxed around us – one even bit Virginia on her finger.
The kelp at this time of the year, and on the heels of a super warm summer of water, is in quite bad shape. We also hear that some fisherman have been catching large pelagic fish species this far south. That continues to be a concern for these special parts of the world.
If you're a New Zealander and you haven't yet visited Rakiura, then you're in for a treat. So far I've seen about four Kiwi right here in town. They are pretty much everywhere.
There's a quiet pace of life here – a very real version of Island Time – but it also seems to be a crucible for ideas and new ways of thinking. The locals are full of a zest and character that makes you wish you had some of the magic sauce. It's impressive and a stunningly beautiful part of Aotearoa.
I stayed with Riki Everest – a local legend and relative of many of the other characters on the island – many of who, like Riki, have big plans for how we step into a more sustainable future. The blueprints are impressive and Rakiura is the perfect proving ground. Watch this space ...
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS We've had some significant increases in the costs of our lower-priced mounted prints and have decided to drop the smallest-size one, which is a 6 x 8" print that fits into an 8 x 10" frame with its acid-free mount. These are $49 and once we have used our remaining stock of 20 or so we won't offer that size anymore. Get in quick if you've always wanted one of our smaller artworks. Additionally, we will have to increase the price of our large 8 x 12" print that is fitted into an acid-free 12 x 16" mount. These have been super popular as gifts and so we will keep them at $79 until the end of April. From May 1 they will be priced at $89. You can select your favourite image right here.
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