Steve, don't ever let me plan a rest day again! It certainly hasn't been a rest! We started the day by walking down the hill to get breakfast at Bird on a Pear - a restaurant on the wharf. We then walked back up the hill to our motel.

Wildlife to look out for!

Next we walked up a hill to Observation Rock which gave us good views of the inlet. We then walked right back down the hill to the main town. Having picked up a coffee at the local shop we then set off on a walk round the coast to Horseshoe Bay. This was a lovely walk, punctuated by sandy beaches and the odd rain shower but involved a lot of up and down! I hope you are getting a flavour of rest day!

Two of the sandy beaches

Several miles later and rather late for lunch time we arrived back in town. Safe to say that was more than enough for a rest day and we stayed at the motel for what was left of the afternoon.

Still about 2 miles to do!

We did try to beguile our friendly kaka back with some apple remains but he refused to put in an appearance until we were about to go out for our evening meal. When he did come he brought 5 mates with him and they had a bit of a squabble over who would eat what!

In order to get to our meal you have to walk down the hill and of course, back up again afterwards! My knees are telling me they really do need a rest or at the very least a spa bath! Tomorrow should be easier - we go back to the mainland and on to Queenstown to meet up with our friends from Melbourne.

Stewart Island has been a good experience though not as remote as we expected. The bird life is great and the views lovely. However the weather is about as predictable as the UK - maybe less so and today has felt distinctly chilly when the sun wasn't out. We did get a wonderful rainbow a little while ago though. A kaka is demanding food with menaces as I write - well that's what the noise he is making sounds like! And Steve is conducting an in-depth study of kaka, necessitating much photography!