Stewart Island Lodge is located on a steep hill facing Half Moon Bay where the catamarans from Bluff on thevmainland moor. It is spacious with 6 nice rooms to cater for in total 12 people, and good shared facilities for cooking, breakfast and relaxation. All rooms open to a large balcony with seats and parasols and magnificent views over the bay. The brush that covers the steep hills are home to many different species of birds, most notably the NZ pigeon, the tui en the bellbird. A continental breakfast is served every morning and transport to and from the harbour is arranged. There are some excellent restaurants on the island, but the biggest attraction is of course a (guided) tour to nearby Ulva Island, a nature reserve that does not have many equals.

This is a lovely lodge with large comfortable rooms (with a nice bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe) and friendly, informative staff. We stayed for three nights. The breakfast was good. Convenient for the ferry and restaurants. It was very welcoming to be met from the ferry.

Stewart Island was a delightful experience. The one and a bit hour ferry trip across from Bluff was calm and enjoyable. Stewart's scenery is spectacular, the people down-to-earth and welcoming (all 380 of them) and the blue cod superb. Stewart Island Lodge is hard to beat for views, comfort, service and proximity to town, although, be warned, part of the hill to and from town is rather steep. Prince Harry and his entourage stayed here in 2015 and the 6 room lodge would have been an ideal venue for him, in light of the above comments about what it has to offer. The garden attracts lots of native birds which is an added bonus, and the staff are helpful, friendly and unobtrusive. Wendy and Dee were delightful. Stewart Island is known for its 97% national park status. We took a wonderful half day trip to Ulva Island (a 15 minute water taxi trip) with Furhana and Ruggedy Range Tours. Furhana is a scientist who is consumed by the natural wonders of the area and she is exceedingly knowledgeable. We did the 5 km trek around the island which has no predators as such. (You have to check your rats in at the jetty.) We saw the four endangered bird species which were placed on the island many years ago as well as several Weka ( a type of wood hen). We also did a one and a half hour tour around the main township and outlying bays with Furhana. I can certainly recommend her tours. The South Sea Pub is a great meeting spot along the water front, virtually next door to the school and we had two memorable meals over two nights there - and we selected the same thing both nights! (They even drove us up the hill to the lodge on the first night.) Highly recommend the oven baked blue cod with dill sauce. If you are after a get-away from mainland New Zealand, try NZ's third island for a lovely experience. By the way, despite its location at the bottom of New Zealand, it has a temperate climate and doesn't vary too much all year around. In December, we had two beautiful sunny days in the mid 20s.