Kaka on my Mind

(steve)

Just returned from the wild land that is Stewart Island. If you're unfamiliar, the island is the background for the film The Piano (Holly Hunter, about 1990?). If you've seen the movie than you know what I'm talking about. The island is considered the last frontier for New Zealand, the last place to find many endangered bird species in the wild. There is only one town, Oban, with a population of 350 dedicated to fishing and tourism. It looked similar to towns found along the coast of Northern CA.




Our adventure was to begin with a short 17 minute plane ride across to the island from Invercargill. It was a beautiful day. We arrived at the airport and checked in. Approximately 5 hours later we boarded the plane. That's right, a 5 hour wait for a 17 minute flight. It turns out the flight operated on visual flight rules and there was a pesky fog bank sitting on the road used as a landing strip on the island (they land on the beach sometimes too). The flight itself was uneventful even though the plane was a touch smaller than we were used to and bounced a lot.




Once landed, we were treated to amazing bird life over the next five days. First up, the kaka. This bird is the forest parrot (cousin to our previous friend, the kea), and just as loud. They spent most of the day swooping over the town screeching at each other (fortunately they don't destroy things for fun like their cousins). There were plenty of wood pigeons and tuis as well. In fact, there were so many birds that the noise was non-stop all day long into the evening. We've never heard anything like it before.

Our second day was spent on Ulva Island, a short water taxi ride away. This island is completely predator free, making it ideal for restoring native bird species. Our day was filled with sightings of rare Stewart Island robins, saddleback birds, kakas, wekas, wood pigeons, bell birds, and red-crested parakeets in the wild and often only a few feet away. It seemed strange to see parakeets this far south. It was inspiring to see how a little effort can make such a big difference with nature.



The next four days we were back out on the trail. We walked the Rakiura Track with an extra day to go day hike. It was here that we expected to be slogging through knee deep mud with rain pouring. Alas, it was not to be. With overall good weather and lots of planking (wooden steps) we didn't have to get too dirty or wet. Feeling somewhat cheated, we decided to make our day hike along a different trail reknowned for its mud. Karen was so happy to use her gaiters that she went tromping through the deepest mud the entire way (I didn't get any and consequently tip-toed through most of it unsuccessfully). Deepest part was mid-shin. It was a good walk with the reward of beautiful views.





After cleaning up and a nice Valentines dinner, we left Stewart Island (on the same small plane) with an appreciation for the way New Zealand looked, felt, and sounded when the first Europeans arrived.

By the way, take a look at the sidebar where we added a summary of the hikes we've done with mileage.