Fearless weka steals the show

Halfmoon Bay viewed from the waterfront at Oban views from Horseshoe Point track.

Still not fully sated in my thirst for New Zealand wildlife, I joined Ulva's Guided Walks on a morning trip to Ulva Island, a predator-free bird sanctuary several minutes' water taxi ride from Golden Bay Wharf. Back in the late 1800s Ulva was home to Stewart Island's post office. The post master would raise a flag to alert Stewart Islanders to the arrival of the mail and they would row or sail out to collect it. Today it's a popular destination for bird-watchers wanting to spot yellowheads (the southern bird seen on our $100 note) and South Island saddlebacks, one of New Zealand's conservation success stories. By 1963 there were only 36 saddlebacks in existence, on rat infested Big South Cape Island off Stewart Island.

They were relocated to other locations to prevent their extinction, and today there are over 1000 birds including 200 on Ulva. We were lucky enough to see a family of a dozen yellowheads flitting above our heads, and further along the track we found a saddleback in a tree with a brown creeper (aka pipipi). We also stopped to watch kaka parrots and New Zealand's smallest bird, the rifleman.

For me, though, it was the inquisitive South Island robins and fearless weka that stole the show. As soon as we entered the forest a cute little robin hopped around our feet, checking us out, a scene that was repeated many times across the island.

Stewart Island population: 402 people

At sandy Sydney Cove, and again at Boulder Beach on the opposite side of Ulva Island, curious wekas made a point of walking over to us to investigate. One even walked between the feet of a lady in my tour group.

There were signs of other creatures that we missed out on seeing — penguin burrows tucked into a bank, a surprising distance through the bush from the water; a kiwi foraging in the daylight, just moments before we came along the track, leaving an enthralled woman in its wake; disturbed sand at Post Office Bay, leading from the water's edge to a rock overhang where a sea lion was hiding out of sight. Sadly when we returned two hours later the tide had risen and he'd swum away.

Deeper in on the island we saw flattened flax beds used by the sea lions.

“For some reason the sea lions think these are the best cushions going,” said our guide, wildlife photographer Matt Jones.

Recently a sea lion gave birth on a flax nest right by the track, and for three weeks visitors to Ulva were able to admire the pup, when the anxious mum allowed it. By the time I visited, however, the pup had grown old enough to swim and left home.

But even without wildlife sightings, the podocarp temperate rainforest of Ulva is a treat in itself. Totara, rimu, miro and rata trees abound, along with some lesser-known treats such as umbrella moss, a “barometer of clean air” that won't grow near polluted big towns, according to Matt.

Dracophyllum longifolium (aka Iiaka) is a useful plant if you're lost in the bush — its leaves are highly flammable and good for getting fires roaring. The muttonbird scrub leaves were used as postcards back in the day, and the black sap of the miro tree for ink, the latter also being a useful antiseptic ointment.

Happily, the Ulva Island Charitable Trust wound the walking tracks around the larger trees, protecting everything of note. And as you follow the curving track, myriad sounds of native birds singing to defend their territory ring out from the bush.

Determined to find the elusive sea lions I spent the following days walking at every opportunity I had.

One day I walked in driving wind and rain to Ackers Stone House, the oldest surviving European building on Stewart Island, and on to Ackers Point. (Note to self: don't bother with umbrellas on Stewart Island — people laugh at you, and the wind destroys them.) At dusk from Ackers Point people can sometimes see sooty shearwaters (titi or muttonbirds) and little blue penguins returning to their burrows. I was elated to see three seals relaxing on the rocks far below.

Another day I turned a corner on the picturesque Horseshoe Point track and startled a wild white-tail deer standing just two metres from me. Moments later I found one of the biggest surprises of the trip — a pétanque set sitting under a buoy on Dead Man Beach for walkers to play with.

Happily, when your legs are worn out there are other options too. I spent a creative couple of hours at Rakiura Jade making a greenstone necklace, followed by a scrumptious evening of fine dining at Church Hill Boutique Restaurant, where almost everything (right down to the pepper) is home-made from locally-sourced ingredients.

As I sadly prepared to leave this island paradise I hitched a lift into town with the family who owned my Airbnb. My backpack jostled for space with snorkelling gear — the older kids at Halfmoon Bay School were heading off snorkelling.

There are only around 402 residents on Stewart Island, and many hold down multiple jobs in summer to cope with the thriving tourism industry, then hibernate indoors over the bitterly- cold and damp winters. But I couldn't help thinking that the safety, freedom and outdoor opportunities afforded to children on the island make them among the luckiest kids in New Zealand.