- Time
- 8-10 days. Lee Bay to Bungaree Hut, 6-7hr; Bungaree Hut to Christmas Village Hut, 6hr; Christmas Village Hut to Yankee River Hut, 6hr; Yankee River Hut to Long Harry 5hr, Long Harry Hut to East Ruggedy Hut 5-6hr; East Ruggedy Hut to Big Hellfire Hut, 7-8hr, Big Hellfire Hut to Mason Bay Hut 7hr; Mason Bay Hut to Freshwater, 3hr
- Grade
- Moderate/Difficult
- Accom.
- Bungaree Hut, Christmas Village Hut, Yankee River Hut, Long Harry Hut, East Ruggedy Hut, Big Hellfire Hut, Mason Bay Hut, Freshwater Hut
- Access
- The North-West Circuit starts and ends at Oban on Stewart Island.
- Map
- CH08, CH09, CJ08, CJ09
On Stewart Island’s rugged North West Circuit, two trampers see more kiwi birds than Kiwi trampers, by Gillian Candler
Long Harry to East Ruggedy was the best of days and the worst of days. It was the day we battled driving rain, struggling along a wild bouldery beach. It was the day that my tramping companion said she felt like “Scott of the Antarctic” as we trudged through quicksand into a bitter cold wind on the last stretch to the hut. But it was also the day we encountered six Stewart Island kiwi (tokoeka) in the dark avenues of manuka. Up until this moment we'd seen kiwi footprints on the muddy tracks and in the sand on the beach. We'd heard a kiwi call outside Yankee River Hut late at night and we’d read in hut books of other people’s kiwi sightings. We hoped to see at least one. On our fifth day on Stewart Island’s North West Circuit, about an hour or so from Long Harry Hut, we were descending to the hut’s old site and there, right in the middle of the track, was a large kiwi. Bigger and darker than I’d imagined, and such huge feet. As with the other kiwis we saw later, it seemed oblivious to our presence. We stayed to watch it fossicking among the crown ferns. Eventually it moved into the undergrowth and we continued on with a spring in our step, delighted with ourselves as if we'd somehow invoked this kiwi to appear. Within an hour we’d seen a further five of the flightless birds. Two were juveniles having a scrap, one poking its beak at the other’s backside as they ran through the ferns. Having seen off the intruder, the victor ambled back across the track less than a metre from my boots. Those six kiwi meant we saw more kiwi than trampers on the North-West Circuit, despite being January and mostly fine weather. Philippa and I started our tramp at Lee Bay near Oban. Despite our heavy loads of nine days’ worth of food, we made quick work of the first section which is shared with the Rakiura Great Walk and were soon on the muddier track beyond Port William Hut. From here, the track seemed to stretch like chewing gum and we began to wonder just how much longer the day would be, when finally we stepped out onto Big Bungaree Beach, saw the hut across the bay and felt wonderful relief. We shared Bungaree Hut with Lawrence from France, who had already done enough tramping in New Zealand to have invested in a Backcountry Hut Pass. From Bungaree we headed towards Christmas Village Hut, through kamahi, tree ferns and tall rimu and along sandy Murray Beach. From here, part of the route follows an old logging track among regenerating bush and then undulates into gullies and creeks. Christmas Village Hut was a delight. We came upon it suddenly, looking up from the stony beach to see it sited on a grassy clearing right above the beach. In the morning we watched a pod of bottlenose dolphins from the deck as they swam by close to shore. Some trampers take a side trip up Mt Anglem, which at 980m is Stewart Island’s tallest peak. The really fit and super quick, such as Lawrence, could climb it in a day and tramp on to Yankee River, others stay two nights. For us, the North West Circuit was enough of a challenge. [caption id="attachment_2227" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]

