ur seals are common outside Halfmoon Bay and are often to be seen sunbathing on the rocks fringing the various points and islands. When boats draw near they usually dive into the water, although they are not always so timid. Females with pups can get very aggressive when they think their young are threatened and a couple of the paua-divers around Stewart Island have received severe bites. After almost being exterminated in the sealing days, the seals are again on the increase and the staff at the salmon farm on the island are now complaining that the nets around their ponds have been ripped by seals trying to get at the fish inside.

Dolphins kept the boat company at several times during the trip, skipping along by the bow wave. These were either dusky or common dolphins, the most common species around here. Hector's dolphin is seldom seen off Halfmoon Bay but is often found between Stewart and the South Island. Even rarer is the beautiful hourglass dolphin which seems to have its range to the south of the island.

In the south of the island, in an area closed to ordinary visitors, a number of fascinating finds have been made, including the harlequin gecko, our rarest and probably our most attractive lizard.

Also in the south, about 20 years ago, a colony of the very rare kakapo was found in a mountainous area called the Tin Range. The discovery was particularly exciting as the colony included females. The female kakapo is smaller than the male and more vulnerable to predators while sitting on its nest. As a result, all female kakapo had long since disappeared from elsewhere in the country, leaving only a few old bachelors.

Although free of mustelids, Stewart Island has feral cats which were taking the birds. With considerable effort, Don Merton, a conservation officer who specialises in endangered birds, and other Department of Conservation officers, trapped a number of birds and these were sent north to Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, one of our few predator-free islands. This must have been a dramatic change in climate for the kakapo, coming from the frozen wind-swept heights of the Tin Range to a subtropical island. Unfortunately, although the birds survived, no breeding has taken place. At the same time cat predation started to increase drastically in the Tin Range with a consequent sharp decline in the population and it became imperative to find somewhere else for the few remaining birds.