5 February 2012 - Deep Cove, Doubtful Sound, Fiordland, South Island, New Zealand

Bruce wanted a day off today. His hiking boots were destroyed on the George Sound hike (he lost both soles!) & he wanted some time to himself, so he didn’t join us on the hiking expedition to Hanging Falls. The rest of us went ashore & found the trailhead right behind Billy's house. (Billy is the sole resident of Deep Cove.)

The trail was very steep with lots of tree roots across it. It was a bit like climbing very uneven stairs, for a very long time. We came to an area where a kid-sized Adventure Forest had been set up, obviously for the 3,000 school kids who visit here every year. Billy says they come in groups of about 50, & stay 4 days. Gram & I did the Spiderman net crawl, the wire ways, the ladders, & the rope bridge, just for fun. There was a zipline, but no pulley.

The hike was really beautiful. Lots of bright green moss everywhere - on both rocks & trees; a magical forest of creeping greenery. There were several creek crossings, but they always had rocks for stepping on, so we didn't even get our shoes wet. Climbing the open root structure was often nearly vertical, so required all four limbs - a good workout. We were forced to go slow so that I had a chance to look around quite a bit. I haven't been able to do that on our other hikes; I always seem to be lagging behind, gawping at the beautiful scenery & touching the ferns & soft green mosses. Hiking in Fiordland is a rugged & challenging activity.

There was occasional sun dappling through the trees, but it was mostly overcast all day with just a few patches of blue sky. Perfect temperature for hiking without getting too sweaty.

We made it to the base of the bowl with the top of the falls in view & Visions of Johanna visible sitting in Deep Cove - nice views all around. We had lunch next to the noisy falls, then headed back down the same trail.

The hike took us about 4 hours, so Billy ribbed us when we got back to his house, asking if we'd had a long nap up there. He had told us it usually takes 2.5 hrs. We always seem to take longer than the estimated times, except for the hike to Helena Falls yesterday.

BB said he had a nice relaxing day. He did a little fishing while we had our showers, but didn't catch anything, even though Billy says we're sitting on a nice "groper" hole.

Gram & I showered off the stern of the boat. The water is so fresh here that it's like swimming in a lake. It's probably about 57 degrees - so a COLD lake. But we're saving lots of water by doing dishes with the salt water pump, which is producing only fresh water here. We’re also bucketing fresh water aboard to wash the boat down & do laundry. We've been told there can be as much as 12' of fresh water on top of the salt water.

We all went to Billy’s for “tea”, which was a grand dinner of mutton, - the best I've ever tasted (because it later turned out to be wild boar!), with homemade gravy, silverbeet, peas, & potatoes. Plenty of food. He had it all ready when we arrived, which pre-empted our appies of pate & cheese & sparkling wine, so we just had those with dinner. Jo & I did the dishes, eliciting the comment from Billy that we were welcome to stay.

After dinner, Billy showed us a couple videos of his former job: helicopter hunting. But there was no coverage of bulldogging, which was what I really wanted to see – that’s where they tackle deer from the helicopter & wrestle it to the ground!

When it got to be 9pm, I asked if we could go see a kiwi, since Billy had said there were about 8 pair living in the area. He had even seen some often enough that he had named them. He had told us that seeing a kiwi here was our best bet next to Stewart Island, but I really wanted to try to see one here. However, we had had a long hike today & everyone was tired, especially, Johanna, who was falling asleep on the comfy couch. Billy said we needed to wait awhile, so he regaled us with more of his stories while we waited until it was darker. Around 10pm we headed out with cameras & a spotlight, but Billy declared it still too light out, so we returned to his cozy house to wait a bit more.

At 10:45pm, he said it was time. As we walked up the road, we saw glow-worms in the bushes, but Billy shushed us & asked us all to refrain from crunching too loudly on the gravel. We had only walked for a couple minutes when he shined the spotlight (with a red filter) at the side of the road. Amazingly, there she was, a young female kiwi bird, about 2 years old, Billy guessed. He said this was not one he had seen before. While we all stood transfixed, she poked around in the scrub with her very long yellow beak, periodically looking up at us before continuing to hunt for insects. Amazingly, she came closer to us instead of running away. Billy said we were very lucky that she didn't run off, & that we saw one so quickly. He talked quietly & whistled to her, reassuring her that we meant no harm. BB & Gram took video & photos, hoping upon hope that we got something; however, the image of that cute fluffy bird is already seared into my brain. It was a magical 2 or 3 minutes of pure joy. We left her alone to continue her nocturnal forays, & quietly congratulated each other on our good fortune as we walked back down the road. Many people have spent hours & hours waiting in the dark for a kiwi to appear before seeing one. We simply took a short stroll & saw one after patiently waiting in the comfort of a warm house, drinking beer & eating brownies.

Thanks, Billy, for an outstanding meal & your indispensible local knowledge. This was a very memorable day.

says ADR