How I became Stewart Island's bird whisperer

Ulva Goodwillie runs a micro eco-tourism business guiding visitors around the world’s southernmost bird sanctuary.

“I like it when visitors ask if Ulva Island is named after me! But of course it’s the other way round; my mother named me after the island as it’s part of my ancestral story. I’m a direct descendent of the first Maori people of Stewart Island.

“Ulva Island is a seven-minute water-taxi ride from Golden Bay on the south-east side of Stewart Island. I always loved its special feeling and energy. Walking around it is like having a gentle amble through a botanical garden and an aviary at the same time. When it became a predator-free sanctuary in 1997 I was part of the team which helped transfer native birds back there.

“It was totally fortuitous how I started my business on the island. My previous jobs had included teaching music and being the medical director’s secretary at the Ashburn Clinic, a private psychiatric centre. Ten years ago I worked as a guide on Ulva Island for the Department of Conservation’s summer educational programme but throughout the year lots of visitors asked for a guide. They wanted to know about Ulva Island’s unique bird and plant life and needed a knowledgeable islander to show them around. From all their enquiries I knew that this would be a viable business venture. There was never a moment when I had qualms about what I wanted to do – I just knew it would work. Tourism marketers always say if you have that special ‘thing’ that makes you different in your business, you will succeed. Mine was as easy as having the same name as the island!

“Small groups can easily walk all the trails of the 266-hectare island in our half-day tour. The walks are rich with seasonal orchids, mosses, ferns, liverworts and beautiful filmy ferns under the green mantle of podocarp forest. Visitors would be hard-pressed to find rare and endangered birdlife like this elsewhere in the world. Bursts of melody from bellbird and tui are interspersed with the raucous calls of kaka and the chattering of native parakeet and kakariki. Before they know it, visitors might have a Stewart Island robin or a saddleback beside them and they may even hug an ancient tree – for research purposes, of course!

“The Stewart Island population swells from 400 to more than 40,000 in summer. Extra guides now help me when it’s busy, especially when the cruise ships call in. They are all local islanders who love Ulva Island as much as I do. If they can pass that love on to the people who come to visit, that’s perfect. Ulva’s Guided Walks is a seasonal business and I am now able to travel to diverse destinations during the winters. Borneo was outstanding and next year I’m off to the Galápagos Islands.”

Interview by Rosalind Le Bas Walker.