2020/21 wild earth travel Southern DISCOVERIES DISCOVER NEW ZEALAND’S THIRD LARGEST ISLAND & FIORDLAND ITINERARY: DAY 3: KAYAK, BIKE AND SPOT KIWIS for Morepork and Blue Penguin and marvel at Stewart Island Discovery Start your morning with a half day sea the stars above - Stewart Island’s spectacular Please note: This is an example itinerary. All kayaking tour. After a briefing you will be night sky is an accredited Dark Sky Sanctuary days and activities can be rearranged pre Take your time to enjoy everything that Stewart Island has to offer. With this Wild Earth Travel exclusive exploring the beautiful bush-clad shoreline status by the International Dark Sky departure to suit personal plans and weather. keeping an eye out (and ear open) for Association. discovery, enjoy a mix of biking, kayaking, boating and flying plus time to explore for yourself. This tour penguins and a host of seabirds going about has everything you could want to explore New Zealand's third largest island! DAY 1: INVERCARGILL TO STEWART their daily activities. With your guide you DAY 4: FREE DAY OF EXPLORATION ISLAND might visit the waters around the Faith, Hope Today is your day to explore as you wish or Fly Invercargill to Stewart Island at your and Charity Islands, head in to Deep Bay and take some well-deserved time out. choice of time: 8 am or 1 pm. This afternoon maybe reach Ringaringa Passage – where enjoy a two hour guided tour of Stewart the Inlet meets the open ocean. All along DAY 5: COAST TO COAST Island, the perfect chance to orientate the way you’ll be discovering the amazing Fly, hike and boat, or fly and boat coast to yourself and discover what awaits over the and prolific sea life living in the crystal-clear coast. Get spectacular views of Paterson coming days. water. Inlet and Mason Bay as you fly across the Tour sites may include: island prior to an exciting beach landing. • Lee Bay - Gateway to Rakiura National This afternoon enjoy exploring the island at You will then enjoy walking between Mason Park your leisure on an E-bike. You may bike to a Bay and Freshwater Hut (approximately • Horseshoe Bay secluded beach for a relaxing afternoon or to 4 hrs), the walk is on mostly flat tracks, • Observation Rock Lookout one of our recommended spots: including a stretch of boardwalk over the • Ackers Point Historic Stone House • Observation Rock: Only a 5 minute bike island’s Chocolate swamp. The track features from the town centre offering amazing ever-changing vistas as it crosses diverse DAY 2: ULVA ISLAND BIRDING CLASSIC views of Paterson’s Inlet and Mount landscapes, from dunes to wetlands, scrub The iconic Ulva Island is one of New Zealand’s Rakeahua. to rainforest. From Freshwater Hut, trampers few pest-free island sanctuaries, featuring • Lee Bay: About a 20 minute e-bike and enjoy a scenic boat trip along the meandering vibrant bird life and dense native bush. Enjoy marks the start of the Rakiura and North Freshwater River, crossing Paterson Inlet a wonderful walk through lush native forest West circuit tracks, it also has one of the to Golden Bay. Alternatively if hiking isn’t with a local guide. Birds you will likely see at pair of matching chain sculptures. They something you are comfortable with, enjoy a Ulva Island include South Island Saddleback, are part of a Maori Legend in which a scenic return flight to Masons Bay combined Stewart Island Weka, New Zealand Pigeon/ warrior fishes up the North Island from with a cruise across Paterson Inlet up the Kereru, South Island Kaka, Yellow- and the South Island, from his boat, and Freshwater River (prices will vary for this Red-crown Parakeet (Kakariki), Morepork, to do so he drops his anchor, Stewart option, enquire with Wild Earth Travel). Rifleman, New Zealand Bellbird and Tui. Island. At lunchtime depart Ulva Island onboard a DAY 6: STEWART ISLAND TO comfortable boat for an afternoon of seabird Finish you day with an evening of kiwi INVERCARGILL watching. You will enjoy commentary from spotting at the Mamaku Point Conservation Fly back to Invercargill or extend your time on a local knowledgeable skipper. Typical Reserve – a Stewart Island must do! the island. sightings include 4 species of albatross, 2-3 Depending on the time of year you will depart species of penguin (depending on time of the Oban township after sunset. With a 6 DAYS, 5 NIGHTS year), shearwaters, petrels and terns. TRAVEL STYLE: Active Land Journey local guide explore the forest and favoured PRICES FROM: NZ$1,840 PP hang-outs of these rare iconic birds. Listen TRAVEL DATES: Departs weekly HIGHLIGHTS: > See the best of Stewart Island through hiking, kayaking, biking and flying Oban > Enjoy a guided tour of the island on your first day Mason Bay Ulva Island > Flexibility to change your itinerary to match the weather or your own personal plans > Visit Ulva Island, a pest free bird sanctuary > Experience Mason Bay with its golden beach tucked in by native bush > Have the opportunity to see kiwi in the wild Stewart Island ITINERARY: INVERCARGILL RETURN DAY 1: FLY INVERCARGILL TO STEWART ISLAND PLUS 2 HOUR GUIDED TOWN TOUR DAY 2: ULVA ISLAND BIRDING CLASSIC PLUS OFFSHORE BIRDING EXPERIENCE DAY 3: HALF DAY SEA KAYAK, HALF DAY E-BIKE HIRE DAY 4: FULL DAY TO EXPLORE AT YOUR LEISURE DAY 5: FLY, HIKE & BOAT: COAST TO COAST EXPERIENCE DAY 6: FLY STEWART ISLAND TO INVERCARGILL For more information see: wildearth-travel.com/trip/5-nights-stewart-island-self-guided/ ITINERARY: a close watch in overhead canopies and records of his discovery and maps attracted Unseen Fiordland & Stewart Island / Rakiura the surrounding shrubs to identify further sealers and whalers not long after who then DAY 1: INVERCARGILL species. formed the first European settlements of Make your way to the Ascot Park Hotel, from New Zealand, historically this region is very Discover the time-forgot rawness of wildlife-rich Stewart Island / Rakiura and the primordial majesty of Fiordland, here we will transfer you to the Port of Bluff. In Paterson Inlet visit the historic Norwegian important and shaped the future of the where clouds scud the ragged peaks of glacier-cleaved mountains streaked with waterfalls, areas only accessible by whaling station in Prices Inlet and Kaipipi country. expedition ship. The captain and expedition team will be Bay, where from 1923 and 1933 the Ross Sea waiting for your arrival at the ship to greet you Whaling Company of Sandefjord, Norway Fiordland’s coast is only accessible by sea, and show you to your cabin. You will have the ran a repair base where chaser boats were making it the most remote region of New opportunity to familiarise yourself on board serviced in preparation for the Antarctic Zealand’s mainland. Waterfalls, streams, and there will be formal introductions to the summer. Discover the quirky town centre rivers and fiords are enveloped with misty team followed by safety briefings. Join the of Oban in Halfmoon Bay, where we will veils that come and go, revealing steep captain on the bridge or fellow travellers on celebrate New Year’s Eve with the locals at gradients of mountain peaks and sheltered deck as we set sail for Stewart Island/Rakiura. the historic South Sea Hotel. valleys. A rugged terrain, the thickly forested floors are covered with ferns, lichens and Seabirds that we may encounter at this early Sailing south and around to the western mosses. Bottlenose Dolphins, Fiordland point in the voyage include albatross, petrels, side of the island, we will enjoy ship and Crested Penguins and Little Penguins are all cormorants, gulls and Little Blue Penguins. Zodiac cruises along this rugged coastline residents of the fiords. Our schedule gives with plans to land and explore some of the us the flexibility to visit as much as possible, DAY 2 - 3: STEWART ISLAND / RAKIURA sandy beaches and surrounding, verdant areas we plan to visit during our time in New Zealand’s third largest island is well wilderness. This area has a rich history Fiordland include Doubtful Sound, Dusky off the usual beaten tourist track. It is a of conservation, sealing and the ongoing Sound and Acheron Passage, Astronomer’s wonderfully tranquil place and with 85 practice of collecting Sooty Shearwater/ Point and Pickersgill Harbour. During our time per cent of the island designated national Muttonbird chicks. The remote and in Dusky Sound there will be the opportunity park, the scenery of untouched bushland is wilderness fringed Mason Bay, a 19-kilometre to experience an unforgettable helicopter stunning. Despite its small stature on most sandy beach, holds great significance with flight through the Sound swooping down maps, Stewart Island has 700-kilometres Maori, was the site of determined early alongside Cooper Island and Cook Channel of coastline so there is much to explore and pioneering farmers and is home to the with a landing on Mt Pender. experience here. highest population of Kiwi in the world. Our final plan will be determined by the Enjoy the impressive bird song as we explore DAY4 - 6: FIORDLAND weather. The Captain and Expedition Leader Ulva Island, rich in history and wildlife, which We have three days to explore the incredible will work hard to make the best use of our has been predator-free since 1997. Some of wilderness of fiords in the south-west corner time in this incredible region. the wildlife you may get to see while walking of the South Island. This is an area rich in its tracks and exploring Boulder and West history, majestic scenery and abundant in DAY 7: INVERCARGILL End Beaches, Post Office Bay and Sydney wildlife.