The challenge – North West Circuit on Stewart Island

After hiking a number of Great Walks we started to feel we needed a challenge. The North West Circuit on Stewart Island would definitely be the longest and hardest trail we have ever done and most probably ever will do. The fact that this is the place where you have the best chance of spotting kiwis was another reason for going. The route we chose was in total 132 km and almost 5000 m elevation including the highest peak on the island, Mt Anglem. The trail is not maintained like the Great Walks and features lots of roots, steep slopes and mud. We had read a lot about knee deep mud all along the trail and were prepared for the worst.

Sunset at Big Hellfire Hut.

It had been dry weather for two whole weeks when we arrived at Stewart Island and only a few showers were predicted in the next couple of days. The hike would take 9 days so we knew that we could get any kind of weather before we were due back. A few days of heavy rain and the track would be very wet, muddy and slippery. We believe we were very lucky and had only light showers a couple of days.

Mud, mud, mud.

Doing the Circuit clockwise is not the usual way to do it and not a lot of people go in this direction. Reason being that the first few days will then be the longest and hardest when you still have a very heavy backpack. But we did want a challenge so off we went. It was hard the first few days but I thought it continued that way the whole time. Of course that was partly our own fault. First of all it was hard just because it was long, many consecutive days on a difficult trail. Second we decided to add a side trip on day 6. The side trip was climbing Mt Anglem which is the highest peak on the island with its 980 meters. It may not sound very impressive but the trail was even steeper, more washed out and muddier than the rest. This day we hiked in total for 9 hours and were completely exhausted in the evening. Our bodies did not seem to really recover after this and even if the remaining days were easier we felt more tired.

View from the top of Mt Anglem. We were extremely lucky with the weather, the only day with a clear blue sky. That made it worth the 3 hour climb to the peak.

Before we started I was mostly worried about the mud and the length of the track. What I ended up thinking was the worst was all the ups and downs, high steps and roots to climb over. It was basically very exhausting all the time. It was mentally hard to be out for so many days and after a few days we dreamed of fresh fruit and beer instead of freeze dried food and oatmeal.

East Ruggedy Beach.

What you see along this trail is a large variety of scenery including beaches, forest, bush, and sand dunes. We did meet a few people along the way but most of the time we were alone in this wild country which was absolutely amazing. And we did see 4 kiwis! Apart from the kiwis there are lots of cool birds on this island like red crowned parakeet, robins, wood pigeons and fan tails. Although it was hard work it was worth it and very rewarding in the end.

Sunrise at Bungaree Hut.

First thing I did when we came back to Oban was to order a big salad for lunch. Wonderful with fresh food! In the evening after a long hot shower we went for hamburgers and beer. 🙂

More photos:

Stewart Island – North West Circuit

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