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DAY 1: Arrive in Riverton
Stay in the Riverton Rock Guesthouse a
restored historic guesthouse in the sleepy
fishing of Riverton. Meet your guide in the
evening for a meal and discuss the days ahead.
Shuttles available from Queenstown, Invercargill
and Te Anau. Rental cars and any excess luggage
can be left in Riverton or forwarded to the
end of your journey at Invercargill.
DAY 2: Riverton, Mason Bay
Walk 4 hours / 10km
In the morning we take a short walk to Riverton
Airport - the beach. We have a twenty minute
flight by small plane to Mason Bay passing
Codfish Island, an important Kakapo sanctuary.
Landing at the southern end of Mason Bay
beach we take some time to explore The Gutter,
a staging post for early Maori in their travels
to the Mutton Bird Islands. We then walk
along this sweeping beach to the Mason Bay
campsite, our one night where we "rough
it".
This evening we will see if we can spot
one of the local residents, a kiwi. Stewart
Island Kiwi, or Tokoeka in Maori, are unique
in that they are sometimes seen during the
day so if you do miss out under the stars
there is always tomorrow!.
DAY 3: Mason Bay, Freshwater, Halfmoon Bay
Walk 4 hours / 14km
An easy ( flat ) walk across the Island
to Freshwater. Massive sand dunes, head high
tussock and Manuka trees house many native
birds, including kiwi's and robins.
At Freshwater Landing we meet the water
taxi for a half hour ride down Freshwater
River and across Paterson Inlet to Halfmoon
Bay. Tonight we stay in a classic Southland
"crib" or holiday home with power
and a shower! Dinner is generally fresh Salmon
caught that day.
DAY 4: Paterson Inlet, Ulva Island
Sea kayak 3 hours, walk 3 hours
Today we explore Paterson Inlet by sea kayak,
water taxi and foot.
In the morning ( this can alter depending
on the weather ) we take to the sea kayaks.
After a thorough briefing from our sea kayak
guide we paddle around the coastline, exploring
a few of the inner harbours with the chance
to see seals, shags and little blue penguins.
Then we visit Ulva Island, an open sanctuary
playing an important role in the conservation
of threatened species. Birds we may see include
the weka, kaka, kakariki, kukupa, mohua and
tieke.
This is our second night in Halfmoon Bay.
DAY 5: Halfmoon Bay, Invercargill
Time to explore Halfmoon Bay. Try one of
many short walks, visit a local craft gallery,
or just soak up the island ambience. In the
afternoon ( generally the 1:30pm flight )
we fly to Invercargill for the completion
of our journey. Many customers chose to stay
an extra night or two on Stewart Island or
back at The Riverton Rock Guesthouse. |
