Many visitors to NZ are here for “the nature.” Well, Rakiura Stewart Island is probably the closest you can get to what Aotearoa New Zealand was like before people arrived without completely leaving civilisation behind.
There are a couple of options for travelling to the island. You can either take a boat ride from Bluff to Oban (Halfmoon Bay) or take a small plane from Invercargill Airport. The boat trip is an hour and can be rough, so consider this. The weather is changeable, although relatively mild. Be prepared for rain.
When you get there, you will initially be struck by Oban's rustic old NZ look, which was once just a fishing village. But now the fishing is as much for tourists, plus the bird life is amazing. The town is small, and you can easily get around by foot.
The Ulva Island sanctuary is a short boat trip from Golden Bay. Kākā (rare large forest parrots) come into town in the evening; kiwi can be seen during the day at Mason Bay and around the local airfield at night. Weka, kererū, and koromiko (bellbirds) are commonplace. Then there are the seabirds, including penguins, albatrosses, and mollymawks. The mollymawk is a mid-sized albatross, obvious from their front-facing eyes, and is about half the size of the largest albatrosses.
A tourist ride on a fishing boat is the best way to get up close with some amazing big seabirds. Plus, you will probably catch enough blue cod to justify the cost of the trip, at least at Auckland prices.
There are several short to moderate walks accessible from Oban, plus day walks on sections of the Rakiura Great Walk (3 days for the circuit). It is also feasible to get to Mason Bay and back in 1 to 2 days with the help of a water taxi or small plane, with a chance of seeing kiwi in the daytime. But you will need to do some research as to options and seasonality.
