After such a busy day we slept like the dead but were up in time for a good breakfast of cereal, fruit and toast along with the other guests in the lodge dining room. We especially enjoyed a good helping of those beautiful Black Doris plums which we find wherever we go in New Zealand. There is a fantastic view from the lodge out over Half Moon Bay and we, and other guests, enjoyed watching dolphins playing in the water below as well as all the different species of birds in the garden below our windows.

We walked down that oh so steep hill in the brilliant sunshine to the main Oban pier and boarded a very smart catermaran which was to be our vessel for the Paterson Inlet cruise which we had booked from the lodge earlier on. We had a wonderful, leisurely cruise along the coast while our captain pointed out many interesting and/or historical features. We paused to look at blue penguins and mollymawks and heard about the history of the Stewart Islanders and of the industries such as logging which have come and gone over the years.

Next stop was Ulva Island, the predator-free bird sanctuary which is renowned for rare plants and abundant bird life. We went ashore for a guided walk with a local expert. We were in a group of six people and our guide was Kylie, a lovely Maori lady who can trace her history back to the 13th century and is truly passionate about the birds and plants on Ulva and brought it all to life for us.

This is a place of such peace and natural beauty that the last thing you would expect is that we would be plagued by a noisy helicopter, but we were! Apparently they are doing some repairs and didn't think to mention it to the tour groups. Obviously it disturbed the birds and Kylie was quite upset but surprisingly enough we still saw plenty and the helicopter eventually left. Kylie is an amazing teacher and brought the forest alive for us, explaining links between plants of today and those of millions of years ago. We saw many birds, I can't remember all the names but the Stewart Island Robin stands out as does the Tui and many more.

It was a memorable trip and in our short visit we feel that we have seen some of the most important sights that make this area extra special.

Back at the Lodge we watched the native birds in the garden and encouraged the Kaka (native parrots) with peanuts. They make such a noise and came right up to our window and ate peanuts off the coffee table, cheeky things!

We walked down our steep hill, across the bay and up the other side to the Church Hill restaurant where we had booked for dinner. No, nothing to do with Winston, just up a hill and next to the church!! We had a lovely meal, the best of which was the baked blue cod. The weather turned suddenly nasty reminding us again that we are in the roaring forties, but we didn't really fancy walking back and getting soaked to the skin. Luckily they were happy to give us a lift back to the Lodge. There's nothing to beat friendly island service!