Kiwi Wilderness Walks
Kiwi Wilderness Walks
Kiwi Wilderness Walks
4.5
About
Guided walk across Stewart Island with the chance to see a kiwi in the wild.
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Kiwi Wilderness Walks
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4.5
7 reviews
Excellent
6
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
stefanvillunger
Innsbruck, Austria1 contribution
Jan 2016 • Couples
My girlfriend and I did this trip through a famil set up by her company and it was a blast! Ivan our guide was one of the nicest people I've met and told me a lot about the Island. The trip started in Masons Bay which is on the far west side of the Island. It's a beautiful place! Not just do a bunch of Kiwis hang out there but there are sand dunes everywhere it's breathtaking. There are a lot of sandflies there to though. Anyway, after spending the night there and getting probably one of my best meals in New Zealand, we went on to freshwater hut, which is about a 4-5 hour hike inland. From there we took a watertaxi to Oban which is overrun by the most adorable parrots ever the Kakas. They will actually eat out of your hand but you're not supposed to feed them. All in all the trip was great. With a lot of breathtaking views and interesting facts about Stewart Island it was probably one of my favorite things to do in New Zealand. Do recommend!
Written 10 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AmandaPressly
Rotorua, New Zealand116 contributions
Jan 2016 • Couples
My partner and I did the Stewart Island trip and had an amazing time. The flight in was beyond cool - flying over the island and landing on the beach! We hiked around the sand dunes and explored the beach looking for whale vomit (apparently you can get a lot of money for it?). We had an awesome guide, Ivan, who taught us about the natural and human history of the areas we ventured through. The stay in Oban was awesome, we had kakas on our back porch literally eating out of our hands! The venture to Ulva Island was probably my favorite part - seeing the cool birds and restoration progress was super amazing. We met a weka, saw yellow heads, saddle backs, parakeets and even a kiwi! I highly recommend using Kiwi Wilderness Walks for a guided tour around the island!
Written 15 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alime12
4 contributions
Feb 2015 • Friends
We had told Evan, the owner of kiwi wilderness walks that we were interested In doing a walk near the viaducts and Port Craig, plus going to Stewart Island. He organised for three of us a trip from Tuatapere to Lake Hauroko to jet boat across and down the river to the sea. Stayed at Waitutu Lodge and Then walked to Te Wae Wae beach. , staying at Port Craig one night. We flew in a small Cesna from the beach across to Mason Bay on Stewart island. A wonderful flight. Had two nights at Mason Bay ,then walked across to Freshwater to get a boat to Halfmoon Bay, where we spent two days. Our guide , Chrissy, cooked us great meals and let us walk at our pace. It was quite expensive but we had a great time in a part of NZ very few people see.
Written 23 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anna H
Scarborough, UK19 contributions
Mar 2015 • Solo
A long held dream became reality thanks to Kiwi Wilderness Walks. A solo traveller fit 61yr old I did not feel capable of tackling a challenging Stewart Island walk on my own. From initial contact with Pamela at Kirra Holidays based in Adelaide to my completing the walk this evening the whole process a delight. Very special thanks to Evan Bloomfield who made the dream a reality. Next trip in the planning for 2016.
Written 10 March 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lorri W
Northern Alberta76 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
We have just returned from the four day Stewart Island t=our and can't speak too highly of the whole experience. It was a great combination of luxury (Victoria Railway Hotel in Invercargill) with the basics of a DOC hut at Mason Bay. The hiking was also a reasonable level for reasonably fit people. Our guide, Chrissy, had the skills and knowledge, but also the awareness that sometimes people could manage on their own as well.
If you are looking for a chance to explore Stewart Island (and I can't imagine coming to New Zealand and not doing so), and don't have the time, skills or inclination to do the 10 day circuit trek, then this tour is for you.
If you are looking for a chance to explore Stewart Island (and I can't imagine coming to New Zealand and not doing so), and don't have the time, skills or inclination to do the 10 day circuit trek, then this tour is for you.
Written 10 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
stephenscheeler
Sydney, Australia2 contributions
Dec 2012 • Friends
We booked a 6-night guided trip for 4 adults to Stewart Island with KWW (also seem to go by the name of HikeSouth). We found them via google and dealt with a fellow named Evan Bloomfield. The trip was well-arranged and terrific fun. Our guide, Josh, was just great - fun, hard-working, knowledgable and a great cook.
Stewart Island is wild and beautiful and going with a guide is a great way to see things (although pricey). We could have booked, arranged and carried everything ourselves (have done so before on other tramps in NZ), but arranging through a guide was really nice for a change. We didn't have to worry about anything and just enjoyed the trip - we even saw a kiwi at Mason Bay...damn thing just about walked into us!
Our only quibble was with some of the items which were supposed to be "included" in our package from KWW, but in the end weren't delivered at all or were different than promised.
This included dinner on our first night in Invercargill (was supposed to be included but we had to pay for it ourselves since Josh had not yet appeared), sea kayaking around Ulva Island (just never happened - Josh knew nothing about it!), our accommodation in Oban (which was at the cheaper Rakiura Retreat, not the Rakiura Lodge as promised, with the 4 of us in one unit with 2 bedrooms, not in separate twin-share rooms as promised), and our transport back to Invercargill (which we changed from a flight to the ferry/coach in order to make a required connection).
We understand that things can change along the way on a trip like this, but a refund for items not delivered (in the range of about $800) is to be expected. Two emails to Evan since our trip have gone unanswered.
So, beware what Evan/KWW claim is "included" in your package. Stewart Island is really beautiful and our guide Josh was top-notch, but Evan and KWW seem to have banked our money and moved on, without the courtesy of responding to our query about a refund. We won't be using KWW again!
Stewart Island is wild and beautiful and going with a guide is a great way to see things (although pricey). We could have booked, arranged and carried everything ourselves (have done so before on other tramps in NZ), but arranging through a guide was really nice for a change. We didn't have to worry about anything and just enjoyed the trip - we even saw a kiwi at Mason Bay...damn thing just about walked into us!
Our only quibble was with some of the items which were supposed to be "included" in our package from KWW, but in the end weren't delivered at all or were different than promised.
This included dinner on our first night in Invercargill (was supposed to be included but we had to pay for it ourselves since Josh had not yet appeared), sea kayaking around Ulva Island (just never happened - Josh knew nothing about it!), our accommodation in Oban (which was at the cheaper Rakiura Retreat, not the Rakiura Lodge as promised, with the 4 of us in one unit with 2 bedrooms, not in separate twin-share rooms as promised), and our transport back to Invercargill (which we changed from a flight to the ferry/coach in order to make a required connection).
We understand that things can change along the way on a trip like this, but a refund for items not delivered (in the range of about $800) is to be expected. Two emails to Evan since our trip have gone unanswered.
So, beware what Evan/KWW claim is "included" in your package. Stewart Island is really beautiful and our guide Josh was top-notch, but Evan and KWW seem to have banked our money and moved on, without the courtesy of responding to our query about a refund. We won't be using KWW again!
Written 12 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
C Z
Shanghai, China1 contribution
Dec 2012 • Family
That was our first experience of tramping in NZ. We chose Stewart Island as the destination as our kids hoped to meet wild Kiwi there. We were a group of mums and kids, so we wanted to have a guided walk. After reviewed many informations, we chose Kiwi Wilderness Walks and it proved to be such a good decision.
Everything was perfect. Even we already got many detailed and helpful informations through emails before the trampiing, we also were arranged to meet the people face to face right before the start date and had more suggestions.
Our guiders were very nice and friendly to the children. Kids loved them so much! We were taught a lot about the plants and animals in the forest. Nights in the hut, we were jeloused by other trampers because the guiders cooked us fabulous dinner:salad, soup,main and even desert!
Though we didn't get the luck to meet kiwi finally, it was still a wonderful experience and would be memoried for long time.
Everything was perfect. Even we already got many detailed and helpful informations through emails before the trampiing, we also were arranged to meet the people face to face right before the start date and had more suggestions.
Our guiders were very nice and friendly to the children. Kids loved them so much! We were taught a lot about the plants and animals in the forest. Nights in the hut, we were jeloused by other trampers because the guiders cooked us fabulous dinner:salad, soup,main and even desert!
Though we didn't get the luck to meet kiwi finally, it was still a wonderful experience and would be memoried for long time.
Written 4 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience