Access

Many operators on Stewart Island operate water taxis. The information centre can advise or visit https://www.stewartisland.co.nz/organisations/information-and-bookings/rakiura-national-park-visitor-centre/ for links.

Track

There are several walking tracks on the island, including Flagstaff Point Lookout, Boulder Beach and Westend Beach.

All tracks on Ulva Island are meticulously maintained.

It will take less than the 3 hours above to walk all the tracks, but the essence here is to take your time. Place a $2 donation in the box at the shelter near the wharf and pick up a copy of the booklet. All profits go to the Ulva Island Charitable Trust.

The network follows a neat clockwise loop, starting and finishing at Post Office Bay. Climbing to Flagstaff Point, descend to Sydney Cove and find a shady spot on the golden sand.

Head inland through the forest to a four-way junction. Continue to Boulder Beach, head right to the top end and re-enter the forest to West End Beach.

Just behind the beach the track continues back to the four-way junction and the return to Post Office Bay.

All through the forest are benches.

Fauna

Here’s the trick. Don’t try and move. Sit on your bench and wait. Spend an hour. The birds will come to you. Lie back and close your eyes. Listen all around. Pick up their calls from a distance. Make a mental map of where they are.

Watch what plants are in flower and which have berries on them. Coprosmas with their bright red fruits are always a good one. Pick a place by a food source and wait.

And then you may start to gain a glimpse into the New Zealand that was.

European History

Charles Traill was the first European resident who settled in 1870. He was the first postmaster and ran the general store. His keen interest in the natural world sparked the enthusiasm for protecting Ulva Island.

Feature

Since colonisation by humans and especially following the introduction of Pakeha, New Zealand’s birdlife has taken an irreversible turn for the worse. Tens of millions of years of evolutionary isolation led to the formation of a unique and finely balanced set of ecosystems, unprepared for the invasion of alien forms.

Since splitting from the supercontinent of Gondwanaland over 60 million years ago, the raft of animals has included no mammals, save a few species of bat. New Zealand was thus truly the domain of birds, who were able to colonise the land. In the absence of mammalian predators, the need to fly diminished and many species such as the moa, developed the habit of gigantism. Birds such as the kiwi, takahe and kakapo roamed the forest floor, the canopy was filled with song of the kokako, hihi and huia and the skies screeched to the call of kaka, kereru and kea.

Introductions by Maori of the Polynesian rat (kiore) started the decline, accentuated markedly from the mid 1800s when European settlers brought cats, stoats, ferrets, weasels, Norway rats, deer and possums. The forest was seen as an enemy to be conquered and vast tracts were cleared for conversion to pasture. The diminished habitat resulted in unviable populations.

This sorry story has left New Zealand with the unenviable legacy of having the highest number of extinct bird species and the greatest number of species on the Red List ( a list drawn up by the United Nations of critically endangered species).

Ulva Island (and Stewart Island) never received rabbits, mice or mustelids. It has been protected since 1899.