Beaks And Feathers
Beaks And Feathers
4.9
National ParksNature & Wildlife AreasWalking ToursNature & Wildlife Tours
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About
Experience the unique beauty of Ulva Island and Stewart Island while going for a guided walk with Beaks and Feathers. Be entranced by abundant and colourful birdlife and the impressive forest of Ulva Island. Experience the iconic Kiwi in their natural environment on our night time kiwi spotting tour. Be taken in with the old charm of Stewart Island, and experience local walks or parts of the Rakiura Track. Beaks and Feathers specialise in small groups for a better experience
Stewart Island, New Zealand
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024
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Beaks And Feathers
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.9
264 reviews
Excellent
253
Very good
4
Average
4
Poor
0
Terrible
3
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familytravel4x4
Liphook, UK728 contributions
Nov 2024 • Couples
Tomas was great, trying so hard to find us kiwis on the airstrip land. The night turned foul (no pun intended) - driving rain and bitterly cold wind which led to two of our party heading back to the bus after the first hour. The rest of us soldered on, with Thomas trying his best to conjure up kiwis -but with a full moon coming and going we were up against it (albeit we could hear them!). In the end, after over two hours we were all thoroughly drenched and frozen to the bone, as we headed back in the bus. Then the magic happed, within 50 yards down the access road we almost ran over a kiwi! Unfortunately not everyone saw it and at least it did not end up as road kill!!. Even then Tomas did not give up and we drove to the coast and had a short walk in undergrowth, but to no avail.
So a disappointing venture - but beak and feathers cannot control events - so the advice would be: make sure you are fully prepared for the weather and keep your fingers crossed!!!
So a disappointing venture - but beak and feathers cannot control events - so the advice would be: make sure you are fully prepared for the weather and keep your fingers crossed!!!
Written 18 November 2024
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.
Thanks for taking the time to write us a great review, and thanks for your patience in what turned out to be a long cold night. Between the full moon and the un forecast rain Tomas unfortunately had work cut out for him.
Written 19 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Gilles B
5 contributions
Feb 2025 • Couples
A very pleasant night out with friendly and very competent guides. The best option to see kiwis in their natural environment. We saw some... A young adult male who came to my feet and a baby... Really top this activity, we recommend to all...
Automatically translated
Written 17 March 2025
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.
Thanks so much for joining Beaks and Feathers on a kiwi spotting adventure an taking the time to write us a great review. . To have an encounter with our resident kiwi with a shoe fetish is an added bonus to the trip :)
Written 18 March 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jackie & Andrew
Surrey, UK38 contributions
Feb 2025 • Couples
Lots of useful information shared about kiwis and our approach. Just a short drive up to the airfield (we wanted a land not sea tour) and excited wanderings to spot kiwis. While there are never guarantees with nature, the guides know the areas and kiwis and know exactly what they're looking for! We were privileged to see two young siblings interacting, very cool! Would recommend this as a knowledgeable and professional but relaxed tour, we enjoyed
Written 19 February 2025
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.
Thanks so much for joining Beaks and Feathers on a kiwi spotting tour and taking the time to write us a great review. Seeing two kiwi interacting is such a cool thing to see. We are happy you enjoyed your time spent with us
Written 21 February 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Julie S
3 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
Was an amazing experience. We saw 5 Kiwi we got incredibly lucky with perfect weather conditions and a great guide. Thank you Emma! I appreciated how Emma really tried to disturb them as little as possible while also allowing us to sneak up on them slowly (while being quiet as not to spook them). We got up very close to one of them which is apparently a bit friendlier. Was a huge highlight of my NZ trip and would highly recommend. Book with Emma if you can ;)
Written 3 April 2024
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.
Thanks so much for your great review. You really struck it good that night with kiwi and a nice clear night. We are happy you enjoyed your time spent with Emma and the Kiwi. Enjoy the rest of your holiday :)
Written 4 April 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Réka B
17 contributions
Mar 2025 • Couples
We had a lovely half day walk Les by Carly on Ulva Island, learning loads about the flora and fauna of both Ulva and Stewart Island, as well as their people. Carly was awesome at spotting birds and recognising them based on the tiniest sounds, we managed to even see some of the rarest birds. Would hugely recommend!
Written 5 March 2025
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.
Thanks so much for joining Carley on an Ulva Island Guided walk and taking the time to write us a great review. We are happy you enjoyed your time spent with Carley as Ulva Island is one’s of her most favourite places to be :)
Written 6 March 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Traveler41840077808
1 contribution
Mar 2024 • Couples
Excellent trip organization and set up. Weather caused the previous night's trip to be cancelled, so we were seamlessly rescheduled to the next morning. The enthusiasm of the guides was superb to see despite the 5am start. Instructions were clear so the entire group made it on time. The use of red filtered light and care for the birds was greatly appreciated. The aurora was a bonus!
Written 27 March 2024
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.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write us a great review. Wasn't that morning great with an aurora and kiwi. Such a bonus. We are happy you enjoyed the experience as much as we did. :)
Written 28 March 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
NANCY H
10 contributions
Mar 2025 • Friends
Absolutely UNFORGETTABLE! This was a Truly Amazing walk on Ulva Island with our guide, Carlie. It totally exceeded our expectations! Carlie was patient, kind, and extremely knowledgeable about the birds, plants, trees, and history of the island. We saw every bird from the Ulva Island bird book which you can get on the island for $2. (Except the Morepork owl which is not a daytime kinda guy!) Hope you had a Happy Bird-day Carlie! Nancy
Written 17 March 2025
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.
Hi Nancy. Thanks so much for taking the time to write us an awesome review. We are happy you enjoyed your time spent on Ulva Island with Carley. and the birds. Its just the best of places to be :)
Written 18 March 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Road54635641513
1 contribution
Apr 2024 • Friends
We were so lucky to see 5 kiwi!! Our guides were fabulous, very calm and relaxed but also very knowledgeable about kiwi and the island, happy to answer any questions, and great at kiwi calls (😆). No problem from the initial booking to the end of the tour, I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to have an excellent chance to see kiwi. Thanks, Beaks and Feathers
Written 28 May 2024
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.
Thanks for booking a kiwi spotting tour with Beaks and Feathers and for taking the time to write us a great review. We are happy you enjoyed your kiwi spotting experience with Kat and Cherie.
Seeing 5 kiwi is awesome. 😊
Written 1 June 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Swt1963
Morpeth, UK91 contributions
Feb 2025 • Couples
I can’t imagine we would have seen a single kiwi left to our own devices, yet with help from an expert we saw one adult male (huge!), two juveniles and once chick! It was slightly other-worldly viewing the landscape by the guide’s red filtered light so as not to frighten the birds away and the fact that, on our particular tour, no kiwis were spotted for some time only increased the impact of the actual sightings, some of which were quite long lasting. Our guide, Anj, was friendly and knowledgeable - and even dropped everyone off at their accommodation at the end of the night time tour.
Written 12 March 2025
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.
Thanks so much for booking a kiwi spotting adventure with Beaks and Feathers and taking the time to leave us an awesome review. Im happy you enjoyed your time spent with us and the kiwi. It's such a treat to see a wee chick!
Written 13 March 2025
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ruth G
Christchurch, New Zealand69 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
Our guided trip to Ulva Island with Carly was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and patient, and the only bird we didn’t see on island was a kiwi. There was also a māmā sea lion and her pup. Having a guide certainly maximised our opportunity to see all the birds, and we felt that it was truly worth the money.
Written 18 April 2024
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.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write us a great review. We are happy you enjoyed your time spent on Ulva Island with Carley. She's an asset to the Beaks and Feathers team and passionate about Ulva Island and all the flora and fauna on there. :)
Written 18 April 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
My wife uses a mobility scooter is this tour not good for her ?
Written 16 January 2018
Hi. Unfortunately this tour may not be suitable for a mobility scooter. Getting to and from Ulva island includes stepping on and off the wharf and onto boats. There’s also several steps on the wharf and on the track that would have to be negotiated. The track is also not really mobility scooter friendly. Hope this was of some help :)
Written 17 January 2018
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.