We left Wanaka at 6.30am as we had to drive to Invercargill to catch our flight to Stewart Island. Knowing we had to get up early meant neither of us could sleep hence John was up re packing his bags at 4am and we left earlier than initially planned - the sun was up and the scenery great so why not! We stopped for coffee at Lumsden and arrived in Invercargill at 1015. As we didn't have to check in until 1230 we decided to have a look around and look for something to eat. Invercargill looked a little tired and run down in comparison to the modern and vibrant Queenstown, however we stumbled across a nice department store - H&Smith for coffee , a date scone (seemingly the normal scone filling) and a cheese roll - a piece of rolled bread with cheese in it which had been cooked somehow - these seem to be a national munchy and this was our first try of them - I have to say they looked bland but were very tasty - we will try them again. As there was not much more to see we decided to head to the airport - which was full of scouts waiting for a delayed flight to Christchurch - once they had taken off and their families had left the airport the terminal reverted to its normal quieter self. At 12 we checked in for our flight with Stewart Island airways; we and our luggage were weighed - we stood on the two feet marked on the carpet and were registered by a well concealed machine! Our flight boarded at 1230 -and left early - two flights were leaving at 1300 so as we were full we got to go first. The flight took 15-20mins - and we landed on Stewart island - bigger that I expected and quite hilly. The airline transported us into the town where we waited for the owner of the cottage we were renting to pick us up. Although the sun was out there was a strong easterly wind so it was cool and the harbour in Oban was very choppy.
After we had settled in to the cottage we took the car (that comes with the cottage) and returned the 4 km back into town to be briefed on our trips by Furhana at Ruggedy Range. We start tomorrow with a birding trip to Ulva island - we must be at the harbour by 8am.
Briefing over we walked a few metres to a creperie for a tea and delicious apple and cinnamon crepe with two of the largest dollops of whipped cream and ice cream you have seen. Before heading back to the cottage we got some shopping from the general store which given it's an island was quite reasonably priced. Out of the wind it was quite warm - so I sat in our sheltered garden looking at the surrounding vegetation - including wonderful ferns and looking for the tui who were flying around. After dinner we were sitting watching tv when a large bird flew and sat on our balcony - it was a lovely Kaka (type of parrot and today's picture.) he was beautifully coloured - red, green, browns and a splash of yellow! A great introduction to the island - we were definitely more aware of different bird life and bird song indeed as we drove into town I saw a black oyster catcher - all the signs are good for tomorrow.