Today Sinbad Gully continues to house a wide variety of native species and unique flora and fauna, such as the Sinbad skink, and is home to a wide range of native birds including rifleman, weka, kaka, kiwi, whio, bellbird and tui. Located at the base of the iconic Mitre Peak/Rahotu, near the head of Milford Sound/Piopiotahi within Fiordland National Park, it is also part of World Heritage Area, Te Wāhipounamu.
The most likely reason being that the very steep terrain and tough climate have acted as buffers from complete dominance by pests such as rats, stoats, possums and deer. This was perhaps also why it was one of the last places that kākāpō were found in Fiordland. Importantly, it means the Sinbad Gully still has a chance of being an oasis of some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most treasured species.
