Our arrival in Bluff was met with amusement, purely as this was the first town we've visited that actually looked closed!� With the winter season well and truly setting in I'm sure this will be a more common sight.
We located the camp site and were once again amused to find that it had no office, simply an honesty box where you posted your details and payment - something I'm sure would not be found at home.� From here we further embraced the town by being the only tourists in the local pub - once the staring had subsided we drank our beer in peace! �
An early morning start for the Foveaux Strait crossing and over to Stewart Island, located 35km from the coast of Bluff.� Our journey was very calm considering the cancellations of the past few days and we happily arrived and made our way straight onto a water taxi to the nearby Ulva Island. ��
This is one of the most successful examples of NZ's eradication of the introduced mammals to preserve their native birds. Not two minutes from the jetty we were greeted by the very curious Weka, a flightless bird similar to the Kiwi.� Spurred on by our immediate success we continued around the many paths of the island taking in the sounds and sights of the numerous inhabitants.� By the time we made our way back to the main island we had a tick against just about all the birds that inhabit Ulva.�
A very satisfying day and great to see the conservation efforts of the country working so well.�
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