Putting on some tramping boots, charming the locals and shucking an oyster - it's all in a day's work for Prince Harry.
The 30-year-old prince spent the second day of his New Zealand visit on remote Stewart Island, which has a population of just 378.
Prince Harry arrived at Invercargill Airport from Wellington at 11am yesterday and was welcomed by a kapa haka and a poem read by Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt.
Shadbolt then introduced him to a line of local dignitaries, and to Henry, the 118-year-old tuatara from Southland Museum and Art Gallery.
Tuatara curator Lindsay Hazley said he gave the prince a brief lesson in tuatara before he put the reptile on his arm.
"He asked me about his teeth after that, and I said, 'He could bite your finger off,' and he said, 'Now you tell me!'"
Children presented the prince with a Kakapo puppet and a Merino possum pull over, on behalf of Invercargill City Council. "We thought he might need it on Stewart Island," said Invercargill City Council chief executive Richard King.
Prince Harry then took a helicopter as transport to Stewart Island.
About 80 people from 10 community groups were gathered inside the Stewart Island Community Centre to meet the prince yesterday afternoon. Outside around 100 people gathered to catch a glimpse of the royal visitor.
Southland District mayor Gary Tong walked Prince Harry into the centre and around the stalls of 10 community groups, including the bowls club and community environment trust.
The highlight of Prince Harry's trip to the community centre involved a knife and an oyster, as the prince tried his hand at oyster shucking. Once opened, he handed the oyster off to a member of the crowd to have a taste.
The island had almost a quarter of its residents inside the centre.
Community centre treasurer Chris Sara said it was not often people get the chance to shake the hand of royalty. "A quarter of the population has probably shaken his hand now."
Sara was excited to get home to his wife and tell her about meeting him.
"I'll go home and shake my wife's hand, I'll ask her what part of her she wants me to touch."
One of the youngest members in the crowd was 12-year-old Angus Kenny, who is a member of the Stewart Island Bowls Club.
Meeting the prince was "pretty cool", he said. "He's more down-to-earth than I thought he would be."
The resounding opinion of the day seemed to be that Prince Harry was easy to talk to. Nic Adlan, of Stewart Island Smoked Salmon, said speaking to him was awesome.
"He was just so lovely and open it was just like talking to one of your own kids really."
Gwen Neave, who was there representing Victim Support and the island's arts trust, asked the prince how England's rugby team was looking.
"'What are the England team looking like?' he said 'very good'," she said.
He then said he expected to see New Zealand in the finals of the Rugby World Cup.
While mingling with the crowd and charming the residents, Prince Harry had many of the island residents nervous. Stewart Island Rakiura Community Environment Trust trustee Sharon Ross said her heart was racing as the prince approached.
"I never thought I would get to shake his hand," she said
Trust members spoke to the royal about their role in protecting the island's wildlife. Ross was able to find out what Prince Harry was most hoping to see on his trip.
"He really wants to see a kiwi, so I hope he does."
PRINCE HARRY: ULVA ISLAND IS 'A BEAUTIFUL PLACE'
The highlight of the day was Prince Harry's afternoon on Ulva Island, a predator-free wildlife sanctuary and home to a number of rare and endangered birds.
The island is home to plants and wildlife that aren't seen anywhere else on earth, and Prince Harry didn't have to wait long for his first glimpse of a rare bird.
Barely a minute after stepping onto the island, he was greeted by a weka.
"There are birds here that are unique to this island?," he asked Department of Conservation (DOC) rangers.
"Wow, that's something."
The prince, who had tramping boots for the occasion, got to explore the 270 hectare, 3.5km long island on foot with DOC rangers. He encountered some of the other native wildlife including kaka, kakariki and robins.
"He seemed to be quite taken with the little robins, which... if you cleared a bit of ground, they'd come right up and land beside his feet," said DOC services manager Brent Beaven.
Although there was no sign of any kiwis, the prince was impressed with his surroundings.
"It's really come to life after the rain yesterday," he said.
"It's a beautiful place, it really is."
Prince Harry also learnt about the predator eradication measures on Ulva Island and how to set a trap by ranger Phred Dobbins.
The island has been pest-free since 1997 and is on the leading edge of island conservation management, attracting about 25,000 tourists each year.
DOC leads the world in pest eradication and has cleared mammalian predators from 117 offshore islands in the past decade, with senior ranger Dale Chittenden describing Ulva Island as "the jewel in the crown".
The relatively unmodified island "shows what New Zealand used to be", in the midst of an environment which is under threat and continues to decline, he said.
Achieving the best possible conservation results came down to spreading the word, and there was no better way to do that than to show one of the world's finest examples of conservation to one of the world's most high-profile people, he said.
"Stewart Island had attracted a lot of important people, but having Prince Harry here is just really special," said Chittenden.
"It's not often people get the opportunity to get out into an environment like this, so we're very fortunate that someone of his profile has come here to help showcase what's here."
The charismatic prince also met John and Jean Hunter, who own the only private residence on the island which has been in their family for 93 years.
"That's your place just over the back there?" Prince Harry asked. "It's a beautiful place, it's completely away from everything and everyone. Nothing has been touched here."
He described them as being "very lucky" to lay claim to a part of the world as picturesque as Ulva Island.
"We've owned 7.2 hectares for 93 years," said John Hunter.
John Hunter said they come over to stay on the island as often as they can and share the house with the rest of his family.
"I'm so happy and honoured for the islanders that he has come," he said. "It's really great to see him here."
"[Prince Harry] is a very nice young fella and he was very interested in what's being done here.
"We're just caretakers of this in our lifetime; it's something we need to preserve for the next generations to inherit and it's great to have a person in [Prince Harry]'s position understand that and take an interest."
PRINCE ATTENDS ROWDY PUB QUIZ, PLACES SECOND
Once back on the mainland, he attended a private church service at St Andrew's Anglican Church before finishing up the day at the Stewart Island pub quiz.
About 150 guests were at the South Sea Hotel, including many pub regulars who hoped the prince, and his "Ginger Ninjas" team, a name with a nod to his famous red hair, would enjoy their regular Sunday night fun.
The night was a rowdy one.
Quiz master Vicki Coats' questions referenced royalty but were not specifically Harry-related.
"We did 'Famous Harrys' last week," she said.
"People were expecting us to do it while he was here, so we pre-empted them."
As The Telegraph noted: "The questions appeared to have been hand-picked to help him win, with an entire round on royal music and the quiz master asking the prince directly for answers that included Eton Mess and corgis."
But even this did not lead the Ginger Ninjas to victory, with first place going to The Body Guard, a collection of Prince Harry's personal protection officers, security and publicity staff, who reportedly cheered when told the first round was all about bodyguards. The Ginger Ninjas placed second.
Accompanying media, largely British, also had a team.
Questions during the quiz included how many freshwater crabs does New Zealand have? What is the name of the only murder victim on the board game Cluedo? What countries border Andorra? And what is the largest lake in England?
The Sun reporter Emily Nash reported on Twitter Prince Harry enjoyed sampling a "Prince Harry" alcoholic ginger beer, brewed by Christchurch's Harrington's Breweries.
The fifth-in-line to the throne will visit Stewart Island's Halfmoon Bay School today, before flying to Christchurch.
Source: NZ Newswire, The Southland Times, Stuff.co.nz, Press Association and ONE News
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