Stewart Island
So normally a red sky in the morning means ‘Sailor’s warning’...but apparently not in Stewart Island. We awoke to our beautiful sheltered anchorage in Paterson Inlet, within the (at the time) sheltered waters with one of the largest inlets within the Southern Hemisphere. Breakfast was gobbled, and the Xplorer was boarded, as we had an early morning appointment with the predator-free sanctuary of Ulva Island.
In this part of the world, and at this point in time ‘predator free’ comes as a fairly loose term, as in recent months Norway rats, have unfortunately reinvaded the island. Originally declared rat-free in 1997 following a major eradication programme by the Department of Conservation, the island has since become home to a number of endangered bird species. And these were our targets. We had six local guides come on board, all with backgrounds in conservation and local initiatives, and we boarded the Xplorer to head across to Ulva. Ulva Goodwillie (the head local guide) gave us a quick rundown on the local history as we headed across to the landing site in Post Office Bay, and we then disembarked onto the jetty, split into groups and headed off with a local guide.
It wasn’t hard to quickly realise how special this place is, when greeted by unbelievably tame South Island robins, weka, and noisy South Island saddleback! The forest was alive with birds and bird song, and the vegetation itself enough to send any botanist into raptures. We spread out around the island and found most of the avian inhabitants, learned about the history of the island, and a lot about conservation within New Zealand, a land heavily modified by humans and the land mammals they brought with them. The cloud cover released only a couple of spots of rain (not bad for this part of the world where mosses and lichens abound), and just before lunch headed back to the ship.
After lunch we had the option to tour the ‘extensive’ network of roads around Oban (really only about 13km or so) or to visit Ocean Beach, a site famous for kiwi. Those who ventured to the beach had a brief view of a yellow-eyed penguin, and saw more amazing plants and were able to stretch their legs a little. With all back on board we departed Stewart Island, heading northeast towards Dunedin. The crossing of Foveaux Strait was relatively calm, but with some wind, so the albatrosses were flying, and we again had great views of Southern Royal, Buller’s and white-capped albatross, mottled and Cook’s petrel, several broad-billed prion, and even a fleeting ocean sunfish. Not a bad way to end the day.
