| Stewart Island |
Kiwis and other birds |
| Stewart Island is the third and smallest of the inhabited islands that make up
New Zealand. It is a short, but expensive, ferry ride from Bluff. |
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A modern catamaran ferry makes the 20 mile run in an hour, depending on the sea
conditions. The day we sailed the Faveaux straight were millpond calm. We spotted little
blue penguins fishing, and scurrying out of the way of the ferry, and a lone mollymawk, a
small albatross, flew by. |
| We spent three days exploring the tracks around Oban, the main township. One
walk took us past Ackers cottage. Built in the 1830's this is the oldest stone cottage on
Stewart Island and one of the oldest in New Zealand. Used at various times as a home, a
smithy, boat works, it is now a heritage site. |
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The interior is rough stone walls, a bare dirt floor, remnants of a work bench
and firepit. There are rusting metal hoops and other implements scattered around. |
| We stayed at a crib, an NZ cottage with large windows in the living room with a
view over Halfmoon Bay. In the flower garden outside the crib we spotted several Kaka's.
These are noisy parrotlike birds. The bird in the photo was angry that there was no more
sugar water in the white dish and threw it on the ground. |
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On one of our walks around the bay we spotted this Tui singing away on a low
branch just above the path. A perfect photo opportunity. The Tui has two voice boxes and
has an incredible song that includes several tunes, squeaks and crackles. You'd swear
there was a chorus of birds around when one of these birds starts to sing. |
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TETHYS