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| Watching the Ferry come into Stewart Island - Looked like they had an easy crossing |
After the amazing trip to Ulva Island, we did not think we would see another area of such beauty. So we were pleasantly surprised when we donned our walking boots and threw our rucksacks over our backs and headed off on a hike to explore the island.
The first stop was Ackers Point, and unless I can find anything contrary, I believe it was named after Lewis Acker who built a house there in 1835. This is now classed as the oldest house on the Island and in New Zealand. Despite us walking there we never saw it! I have since discovered that it was built on Harrald Bay, which we didn't take a detour to walk too. I should confess I wouldn’t walk anymore cause I was cream crackered, but Tony insists it was because I wanted to conserve my energy.
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| Ackers House (C) Swarbrick (ND) |
The moral of this story is check out all walks, because you never know what you may miss. However, thanks to the wonderful internet, I have found a photo of this house and this is what it looks like.
Apparently, he lived here with his wife and 9 children.
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| Hobbit country - Watch out Gollum is sneaking |
The walk to Ackers Point took us through some amazing forestry and it was like stepping into the world of the Hobbit. In fact I swear I saw Gollum, sneaking around, and Frodo looking for his lost ring! I may not have, but I did see some lovely little birds. In particular the Tomtit.
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| Tomtit - or Miromiro |
I do like them and you can identify them by their little Nike tick you can see on their wing. Now I wonder if Nike know about this, before the patent of their brand-mark
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| The view across Golden Coast Bay |
Our second hike took us on a marathon coastal walk named the “Golden Coast Bay”. Some bay, more like a mountain since it took us up one hill and them down again, then up again and down again. It was pretty much like that all the way, but it was so worth it.
Again, it was Hobbit country and also we saw the one bird I was desperately trying to photograph the Fantail. There was one very obliging Fantail, who I swear was having a blast having his photo taken. Now they are also very flighty birds, but such a delight to watch.
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| Fantail |
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| This is my best side |
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| Strike a Pose |
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| Tui or Parsons bird. Aka R2D2 |
My other favourite was the Tui, or Parsons Bird. Possibly named the “Parson” since he has a lovely little white collar around his neck.
Now his song is such a wonderful sound and all you fans of Star Wars may hear a resemblance to R2D2’s cheeky whistle, since it is very similar. Being a Star Trek fan I would delight in listening to this, in fact I could listen to it all day.
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| Kereru |
Now, every country has pigeons and here is no exception, except here the pigeons are stunning to look at. They have various Maori names, but the most popular one is the Kereru.
I was quite delighted to discover another Maori legend and this one tells how this bird got its white markings on his breast.
One story about this bird goes a bit like this. The Maori god of the forest, Tanemahuta asked all the forest birds to help with cleaning the forest floor. The Kereru said it was a bit busy collecting Miro berries for his mother so she could make a berry pie.
As a result, Tanemahuta punished him by making him wear his mothers white apron for the rest of his life. There is another story, but I like this one.
I am not really sure what my favourite bird is on Stewart Island / Ulva Island as there are so many to choose from, but I think I may just have to settle for the Kaka, especially the one that would pop onto our veranda. Here is again, one of my favourite pictures of him...
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| Hello my name is Kaka, got any honey..... |
Reference
Swarbrick N (ND) North Americans - 1797–1870: years of opportunity', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/4269/lewis-ackers-house-stewart-island (accessed 20 February 2017)
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