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Published: August 2nd 2009
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Jumped on a water taxi for the short trip over to Ulva Island, another refuge island where native birds are protected and wildlife is flourishing. Got chatting to Kevin from the US on the warf (pier) at Golden Bay, which was a little further from Halfmoon Bay than I thought. Thankfully things don't run on time like they do on the mainland!!
The majority of the island is a reserve, home to numerous native birds including weka, the stewart island robin, Kaka, Karakiki, Saddleback, Riflemen etc. I decided to visit sydney bay to start and had my first encounter with weka. I took a wander down the sand, and found some foot prints. I was too busy taking pictures of the prints that I almost missed the weka poking about in the sea weed! He was so curious, and didn't seem nervous or anxious in my presence. I walked slightly away from him and he went about his business searching for food.
I took some photos and managed to spot a couple of oyster catchers that were wading in the shallows also.
I left the bay and headed for boulder beach. Along the path I bumped into Kevin
Sydney Bay
The first beach I came across again and he had seen lots more of the native birds than I had, and I felt like I wasn't looking hard enough or something!
It was a pretty rough day, the wind was blowing hard and the showers were frequent. I find that the birds tend to tweet more in the sunshine, and I need some sort of noise or movement to spot them! On my way from Boulder Bay to the West End beach I was treated to the company of Kaka and Karakiki. Firstly the Kaka was sitting chilling on a branch, not in a hurry to go anywhere or fly away. I got the chance to stand and watch him pruning himself and picking bits of a branch of a tree. It was so refreshing that they weren't afraid or cautious of humans!
Then I was treated to a viewing of the lovely green Kairiki. They are so well camouflaged in the jungle. If you take your eyes off them for a moment, it's almost impossible to spot them again!
I tramped along to the West End beach and found a sheltered spot to eat some lunch at the end of the beach.
Weka footprints
I was so busy taking pictures of the footprints, I nearly stood on the weka! There was a branch of a tree hanging out over the beach so I made the most of it and used it as a seat. Some curious young saddleback birds came to have a nosey while I was eating. How cute!
I wandered down the beach past some beautiful shells and found some interesting red growths on the rocks. I wandered around a corner and came across a small cove/cave. It was very well sheltered from the wind and a perfect opportunity to sit and watch the sea churning in the wind.
From there I wandered back to the warf where the boat had landed. Along the way I found a bench to sit and relax on. I was sitting quietly and about to leave when i was joined by a beautiful and curious stewart island robin. I ended up spending some time with three individual birds. They were all easily established by the coloured bands which were attached to their skinny little legs. They came very close, round my feet and even next to me on the bench. It was such a lovely experience! I managed to get a few nice video clips of the beautiful little
Weka
Picking through the seaweed, didn't seem to mind me at all! things!
The trip back to the warf was uneventful and I retired in the hostel to plan tomorrows adventure. I made a quick shopping list of what I would need for my 3 day tramp around the Raikura track. I had met a German girl in the hostel the day before and had mentioned that i was thinking about doing the track. I got chatting to her again when I returned and she has decided to do the track too, so it looks like I will have some company.
ON the island tonight is netball. 6 of us from the hostel decided to head down and see what the story was! It was actually a lot of fun. I've never played before but got into the swing of things quite quickly. I decided defense was the place for me as my aim has never been very good. It got quite competitive towards the end, but ended on a good note, with my team winning. It reminded me of the postgrad activity evenings in UL! I really do need to vent that competitive edge!!
Netball is thirsty work, so we retired to the pub for some well earned
drinks and the opportunity to catch up and find out a little more about each other. Too many pints later (I managed to avoid the shots tonight!) we made our way home after being kicked out! Got chatting to a few more locals tonight, and one blow in from the UK who seemed to be looking for a fight, or just didn't like me because I was Irish!
Another eventful night on the island, who would ever want to leave!! 😊
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