Rara avis
Southern New Zealand Dotterel
I saw this bird out on the open tops.  I wasn't sure what kind it was so I contacted Eammon who works for DOC on the island.  Here is what he had to say:

 You have a fine photo of the uncommon endemic Southern New Zealand Dotterel, the Maori name is tuturiwhatu, and the Latin name is Charadrius obscurus.  This one is the southern species because it lives and breeds on Stewart island in the open areas of the upper alpine vegetation.  They will flock up in large groups and comes down to the coast to feed, where as the NZ form is found throughout the country but breads only on beaches, shell banks and river mouths.
The rusty color indicates that it is breading plumage, males become a lot more rusty right down to the legs, so I would guess this is a female.

It turns out that there are only less than a hundred of the Dotterels that nest in the mountains.  That's only a  hundred left in the whole world so they truly are a Rara avis, a rare bird.


Deadwood on the Track
In some places the track has been seriously eroded even though there are very few people who walk it. This sort of surface is not uncommon on the tops. I try to be careful when I walk in in such areas for two reasons. One is self-preservation, often the wood has sharp points on it and to fall would be most painful. The second is so as not to damage the trail surface. These areas are very sensitive to disturbance and just walking through causes significant damage to the tussock. Best to tread lightly on Mother Earth.