Stewart Island (Dec 2013) | Australasia & Pacific - Australia, New Zealand & Antarctica - Lonely Planet Forum

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Fri, 27 Dec 2013 21:16:42 +0000

Hi,
am going to Invercargill to access Stewart Island and have two spare clear days. Wondered if it is better to do a day trip to Stewart Island by flight, seeing Ulva Island and a bus tour in the afternoon and a bit of free time for hiking; or staying overnight and walking part of the Raikura track? From what I can see the one thing we would not be able to fit in is the Kiwi spotting at night due to cost and potentially not in the right location if doing the Raikura track.
Thanks for any help :)

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Tue, 07 Jan 2014 03:37:44 +0000

I'm not clear as to what you are asking? Do you only have 2 days available to go to Stewart Island? I'm not aware of any Stewart Island based companies that do scenic flights over the island. Invercargill based, sure, but then you wouldn't be on the island if you do that.

If you have the money for a scenic flight then I'm not sure why you don't have the money to catch the water taxi to Freshwater Landing and walk to Mason Bay to go Kiwi spotting for a night (go by yourself, not with the guide). You'd be looking at ~$200 per person in both cases. Mason Bay is gorgeous so I know which I would rather do.

If time and money are really an issue I would just stay in Oban. You can hike to Port William hut and back comfortably in a day. Hire kayaks and paddle out to Ulva Island yourself to go bird spotting.

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Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:36:43 +0000

Definitely spend a night (or two) on Stewart Island if you can. There are lots of walks/activities you can organise from Oban. We saw a kiwi on the road up to the airport (but not on the Rakiura Track), on the second night we had gone up there to look for them.

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