The next morning we made it into the sea kayaks! The there were three small islands in the bay which we moored in – Faith Hope and Charity – two are in the pic below
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So we rowed across to Ulva Island. It’s a DOC operated island and they have made it into a bird sanctuary. See, what you have to know / remember is that NZ is a bloody long way from anywhere. Before humans arrived the only mammals were bats!.. which is why flightless birds like the kiwi were able to develop in relative peace (except for the gigantic birds of prey…). When humans arrived, we did NZ the singular favour of bringing rats, ferrets, possums and stoats – to name just a few. These – and every other introduced species – loved New Zealand… and flourished.. but at a huge cost to the local flora and fauna.
Hmm… David Bellamy watch out. Anyway – DOC made Ulva Island (and a few others) into sanctuaries for wildlife – there are no predators on the island, even rats which swim across are caught and killed.
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Dennis was great – he pointed out so many birds and different trees – twas like having our own personal tour guide.
After Ulva we kayaked on down (through the clearest water ever – the seas are just crystal) to Abrahams Bay, to climb all the up 352m elevation at the top of Pryse Peak. Crampons and ice axes were left behind as we were aiming for lightness and speed…
Gordon had caught a Barracuda on the paddle down! They have teeth (and aren’t good to eat either)
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The view from the top was actually really rewarding.. It was kinda funny, when we got to the top it was still quite thick scrub – with no view at all.. but some clever person had left a ladder tied to a tree – so we were able to get the views..
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Finally – happy birthday MB :)
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