Tuesday 16 August: a day spent exploring Dusky Sound. We set sail, first passing New Zealand's first European settlement (1793) at Luncheon Cove and sailed on through the beautiful Bay of Many Islands.
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| A moody start to the day |
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| Sailing into the Bay of Many Islands |
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On Anchor Island, a large island that is predator free and home to Kakapo.
This inlet is the site where sealers who had been left behind on the island built a ship. |
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| Bush track on the island. |
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| Kakapo poo - we did not see any, they are very shy and very well camouflaged. |
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| Lake Kirirua, a surprisingly large lake in the centre of Anchor Island |
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| Beautiful bush |
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| Our walk across Anchor Island took about three hours. We were fortunate to see the rare Mohua (yellowhead) and also saddlebacks. The sun came out during our walk. |
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| Back on the tender again |
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| After each trip ashore our captain hosed down our footwear. |
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| On the bridge, sailing on to Facile harbour where a passenger ship from Australia, the Endeavour, was wrecked in 1795. Many people (244) were marooned there for some time before being rescued. |
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| Pigeon Island, New Zealand's first bird sanctuary 1894-1900. Richard Henry built a house on this island, here are the remains of his chimney. He collected around 600 kakapo and kiwi and transferred them here in an attempt to protect them from predators. Unfortunately stoats swam from other islands and his efforts failed. |
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| The remains of a kakapo enclosure. |
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| Pigeon Island |
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A friendly robin by Royce's gumboot.
Heading back to the Milford Wanderer
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GPS track for our day in Dusky Sound
An evening treat - a bottle-nosed dolphin photographed by Owen.
Another excellent dinner, but Kakapo was not on the menu.
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