So next it is off to Stewart Island one of the most southerly settlements in the world. At nearly 47 degree south we are out in the Roaring Forties. Gough Brothers build alluminium boats for these conditions. The 23 metre ferry operates in up to 50 knots of wind and seas of 7 metres. I arrive ashore at Oban and walk up Argyle Street, parallel to Ayr Street leading to Dundee Street while somebody plays the bagpipes and wonder if the ferry got diverted on the way... I check into the cramped backpackers - beds are at a premium due to an island wedding but I have a nice hotel for tomorrow night.

I start with a 90 minute bus tour to get the lie of the land where 400 people live with just 27 kilometers of road. This is the first time I have felt cold in five years and am glad I did not opt for long walks here; the longest is 10 days carrying all your own stuff including food and water.

That evening we feed the wild parrots (Kakas) which are protected but not endangered. One of their favourite pastimes is to sit on the bonnet of your car and pull out the seal around the windscreen. Funny birds!

Later I join the backpackers team for the pub quiz, an event not for the squeemish - the quizmaster is a very large,very loud, very tatooed and very profane lady. Next morning I watch children as young as five walking to school; unusual in this day and age. I am in Half Moon Bay, the shape of a cresent. Next to it is Cresent Bay, the shape of a half moon. Apparently in about 1870 a mapper got the names mixed up and the mistake stuck.