Day 51 - Easter

Happy Easter everyone! I know it is a few days after Easter, but better late than never...right?

We got up and got checked out of our backpacker and checked into our room at the South Sea Hotel. Very nice historic hotel.

Then we headed up the hill to the cool old Presbyterian Church. They had a very nice Easter service with only about a dozen people in attendance. The minister gave a nice sermon on the finding of the empty tomb and the need to use both your right and left brains (having faith and using logic) (Andrea said it was the best sermon she has heard). After the service we went down to their hall to have some tea and biscuits with the parishioners. It was nice to spend a little time talking to the locals and feel a little bit less like a tourist.

After church we went back to our old backpacker to grab some food we had left in the fridge. And lunch we headed back to the hotel to relax for little while.

Later in the afternoon we decided to go on a little walk down to Acker's Point to see if we could find any penguins or kiwis. There are some penguins that nest in the area and come back to their nest just before dark. There are a couple hundred kiwis on Stewart Island and it is supposed to be one of the few places you can actually see kiwis in the wild. The problem with spotting kiwis is that they are nocturnal and very shy, so they do a very good job at avoiding people.

We walked along the road enjoying the view

and the cool boat houses.

We stopped and took a look at the Acker house which is the oldest surviving building on Stewart Island.

















Then we headed out on the trail out to the point. Along the way we saw a pod of bottle nose dolphins swimming just off shore.
















They were jumping and playing as they swam around the point.
















Along the way we also saw a white faced herron looking for a snack in the rocks.
















Well, unfortunately we made it out to the point and back without seeing a penguin or a kiwi. However, it was a beautiful walk and we did get to see some wonderful wildlife.

Once back we went down to the restaurant in our hotel and had a very nice Easter dinner. Andrea had the salmon and I had some bluff oysters...yummy! A very nice way to end a great Easter in New Zealand.