Sitting (in the cafe) on the dock of the Bay

Jo's café, 'The Bird on a Pear', has reopened for the tourist season and it's the perfect place for watching boat activities whilst eating yummy food and drinking hot chocolate. I'm speaking from experience as I spent three hours there today with a friend and 'the boat show' provided entertainment that would be worth paying for. Jo joked that she was going to cover the window in black paper and sell 'peepholes' - reckon she'd be on to a winner there!

The café sits above the ferry terminal and has full windows on the two sides overlooking the water. One side looks down on the wharf where a forklift moves the ferry bins and freight in and out of the pickup area. We watched a number of small boats docking to offload people and gear, then the Real Journeys ferry docked to load freight and luggage for the 3.30pm sailing, followed almost immediately by the freight ferry from Bluff.

View from our table looking over Halfmoon Bay - the freight ferry (left)
docked 5 minutes earlier and is now unloading gas bottles

The boat and trailer were lifted with ease by the hiab on the freight ferry

Manoeuvring large objects looks easy when you're only watching! 

Getting the ferry bins prepared for loading on to the 3.30pm passenger ferry

Passengers' luggage gets put in the ferry bins, covered and tied on the rear deck for the crossing of Foveaux Strait. When I moved to Stewart Island it cost $35 to bring a bin-full of freight over so it's a significant cost, especially for things such as food and drink.

The freight ferry comes less often and brings the larger items - the decking that the boat and trailer were stowed on lifts up with a lot more space for freight down in the hold. This ferry is used for bringing vehicles to the island - it would be so much easier with a roll-on, roll-off ferry like the ones used on Waiheke Island.

What a relaxing way to spend an afternoon - definitely recommended for all visitors to this special island.

I recorded part of the dawn chorus this morning so will put that audio up on my next blog - so much going on at the moment!!