Stewart Island - 3 Day Rakiura Track Day 1

Here P&A coming!!! Stewart Island, the southern most island of NZ which is our first time that closest to Antarctica, anyway, it still very very far from South Poles. >.< We are ready packed with 3 days of food and cooking utensils for our very first multi day hike! Hehe so excited, as we have no experience for hiking overnight and under such cold weather in the south.. We took the ferry ride $142 return pp from Bluff.

Kia Ora~

We are ready! Got ourselves the track map and weather information from the DOC info site. And now our beginning of a total 39km walk for three days =)

It is here at Stewart Island we hope to spot  a kiwi in the wild...

Oops so fast calling for help?

Take a break and look at the sky =)

Beautiful track along the beach...

Had our lunchiee...We made sure we had enough carb to complete the hike.. 

Super big blue mussel found at Maori beach.. Yay, we can have extra side dish for dinner tonight.. It's always fun to gather shell fish and to put the 10kg+ backpack down for a while..

Arrived at our first hut, Port William Hut.. Woohoo

Nice hut, there are cooking stoves provided in the summer, but it is still spring now so we had to bring our own.. And there is no heater.. Hope it won't be too cold..

Wood pigeon..

Our dinner... Cooked this morning at Bluff =)

Cooking our mussels, we offered them to other people sharing the hut but no one dares to try as they are afraid of getting an upset stomach and affect their 3 day hike =P

Yummyyyyy, the freshest ever!

Whitsunday ~ 1st Scenic Flight in P&A Lifetime

There are campsites at Whitehaven beach, and people had to get a boat transfer ($150 pp) to get there. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But it is too deary to get there, and not able to see the Hill Inlet. (because you cannot hike from Whitehaven beach to Hill Inlet)

So we decided to take a 60min 'reef and island' scenic flight from GSL Aviation to view it all! The Outer reef and the Hill Inlet and it was AMAZING! Cost $189 pp, but we reckon it's worth it. 

Our handsome pilot for the noon flight. We're in a 8 seater aircraft.

Whitsunday Airport

OFF we go! 

Jaw dropping all the way! 

Hamilton Island, one of the 74 islands of Whitsundays with luxury resort accommodation.

The MOST absolutely AMAZING beautiful OMG Hill Inlet @ Whitsunday Island

Look at that!!!

The perfect white strip of beach, Whitehaven Beach

Passing all the islands, we came to the outer reef!

The Great Barrier Reef streches up to 3000km long and it's the only nature wonder visible from the outer space. Stretches from Bundaberg up past the tip of Cape York. We are at the southern part of it. The reef looks amazing from the sky! 

Our airplane's shadow on the reef!!

The most amazing view P&A have ever seen above the SKY! Really speechless.. Let the pictures speak for themselves...

 

Here is the Heart Reef. A perfect shape of Heart :)

Hardy Reef

It is a place that we will come back for sure, not for a scenic flight again, but to join a sailing tour and walk the Whitehaven beach! And also dive in one of GBR's top site, Hardy Reef.

Bowen, also within the Whitsundays Region

Our hearts are still pumping fast (still very high) after the one hour flight but we have to continue our journey to Bowen still =P

The extensive fields of sugar cane plantation from Airlie to Bowen.

Next: Cairns, city of far north Queensland