It feels kind of weird giving you an itinerary when we don’t follow them ourselves. They go a little against the ideals of slow travel. However, we think itineraries are helpful ways to see how other people travel, this one is a great way of dipping your toes into the world of slow travel. We’ve created this itinerary for Rakiura, Stewart Island based on our experience on this paradise
We want to encourage more people to travel mindfully, and sometimes a guide is the best way to get started. So with that in mind, we’ve written down exactly what we did with our 4 nights on Rakiura (Stewart Island). This way, you can really see how slow travel is applied to a not so slow amount of time. Use this as a guide and not a strict set of rules.
Follow parts of it and make up your own parts too! Slow travel encourages us to embrace uncertainty and explore in a way that leaves us open to changes and thus adventures! So have a read, get some ideas, book the things you need to and leave the rest up to when you get there!
Be sure to check out our Instagram to see more slow travel inspiration!
Itinerary for Rakiura at a Glance
Day 1: Ferry and Explore
Day 2: Rakiura Day hike
Day 3: Ulva Island
Day 4: Chill day and Kiwi Spotting Tour
Day 5: A Day on the Island
Day 6: Say Goodbye and Ferry Back
Day One
Our actual plans for day one were just to arrive on the island, wander town a little, and maybe go for a swim. We had nothing booked and just wanted to see what we felt like doing when we got there. Tiff had brought along 2 books and was pretty excited to relax with one of these whilst listening to the abundant birdlife on the island. Here’s what our day actually looked like.
Ferry Ride
We made use of the ferry parking and got here early so we could pay for the parking. The Ferry ride across Foveaux Strait can be pretty rough. We sat next to a local and their cat on the way over and were shocked to hear that it was a calm day. We both took sea sick tablets and still felt a little queasy towards the end of the trip. So be prepared and sit out the back outside if you can.
Lunch at South Sea Hotel
We got picked up from the ferry by our Airbnb host, which was amazing! She gave us a little tour of the town, showing us her favourite café and pointing out roads to small walks she recommended. She then dropped us at our home for the next 4 nights. We booked this Airbnb for the view and the fact that you are given a car to use!
The advantage of having a free car on a very hilly and small island is incredible. We had plenty of hikes and walks we wanted to do, and if the only way to get to them was by walking, we wouldn’t have had the energy to do them all. It was also really nice to stay away from town with what felt like our own little beach to go for swims to end our days.
Once we checked in and unpacked, we drove into town for some lunch and a wander. We had a glorious blue sky day and made the most of that by sitting outside at the pub. We people watched as we drank some cold beer and dug into the delicious salmon pizza, fish tacos and chips we ordered.
For a pub on a small island, the food here was incredible! It blew us away with how good it all was, so much so that we planned on coming back for dinner one night. It was so peaceful sitting outside and watching people wandering around town or coming back from completing the Rakiura Track. The vibes here truly were sleepy island town, and we were so here for it. You just felt relaxed and chill, like you have all the time in the world.
Wandering Around Town
After we filled our bellies, we took a stroll around town. It’s not big, but it was still nice to wander and browse all the different little shops and read the restaurant menus. Tiff got a book from one of the little free Library’s (yes there is more than one here!) and we made note of a few events that would be happening in town whilst we were on the island. Be sure to check the notice board near the 4 square for local events.
We chatted with a few store owners and found out the Department of Conservation staff aren’t allowed to give you tips on where to find Pāua (abalone) the staff member we spoke too seemed to feel genuinely sorry about this too. We had the phone number for Fi, our amazing Airbnb host, so we texted her to ask for some fishing and Pāua tips instead!
Local Recommendation: Ackers Point
We then jumped in the car and drove out to Ackers Point. There is a small car park here and then an easy trail along the coast to get out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is more of a light beacon though and not overly interesting. The highlight of the walk is definitely the little cove you can stop at along the way, with Ackers Cottage nestled just above it. This is the oldest European building on the island and worth stopping for. The views from the point are beautiful, but we enjoyed spotting birds in the trees on the way out the most.
Local Recommendation: Observation Rock
We stopped in at Observation Rock on the way back to our Airbnb. This proved to be an amazing spot to watch Tūī flying through the trees. The view from the deck here takes in the sparkling blue waters of Patterson inlet, with various bays and small islands dotted around. We took our time sitting on the benches in the shade watching the Tūī flit about and admiring the gorgeous view.
Before getting back to the Airbnb, we drove to the end of the road it was on and stopped at the small bay there. A walking track led into the green bush of the cliffs near the bay, so we followed it for a while. Just admiring the flashes of blue water against the greenery of the forest until we decided to turn back around for some afternoon tea.
Afternoon Snorkel
When we got back to the Airbnb we made a cup of tea (there was a huge selection of different teas to try which had Tiff very excited) had a little treat to go with it whilst playing some cards together at the table overlooking the bay. Once we felt rested, we donned our wetsuits, grabbed our snorkel gear and walked the few steps down to the beach practically at our door step.
The water here is COLD, if you plan on staying in it for any length of time, you really do need a wetsuit. Highly recommend using flippers as well. Nathan had a pair of flippers and a snorkel, Tiff only had a snorkel. She couldn’t keep up with Nathan at all! We swam around the bay for a while, spotting a lot of different sea creatures but sadly no Pāua. When we got out of the water, a local was sitting on the jetty and had a little chat with us. She’d come down to the bay thinking there was a seal playing around, only to realise it was us going for a swim!
Warm showers and an easy dinner of pasta and garlic bread for us. We watched the sunset over the bay whilst we ate and listened to the birds come alive before night truly fell. If you are here in summer like we were, you’ll find the sun doesn’t set till very late. It gives you so much time in your day and makes it easy to read in bed before going to sleep with just the window open!
Day Two
Day Hike
Today was one of our pre-booked activities. We were fortunate to have great weather for this one! Breakfast was nothing special apart from the view from our table at the Airbnb. We packed sandwiches, plenty of snacks and water for the hike and drove into town to catch the small boat up to Port William Campsite. The day walk we are doing is part of the Rakiura Track. The boat ride over was much more pleasant than the ferry to Rakiura. We even got to stop along the way to admire a beautiful albatross!
The day walk was about 17km and took us 6hrs including swim, snack and lunch stops. Walking back into town from Port William was beautiful. The track hugs the coastline for most of the way to Lee Bay. We stopped for a decent snack and a swim at Māori beach. Lunch was enjoyed on the water at a small tidal bay just before the main Lee Bay Area.
From Lee Bay, we followed a road to Horseshoe Bay where we walked the entire bay. From here, we chose to walk the Horseshoe Point Track hugging the coastline again instead of the shortcut along the road back to town. We have included the map of our walk below if you want to do the same! It’s a great track to take your time and stop at all the little bays along the way.
A Chill Afternoon
After our long and rather warm walk, we decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream in town before heading back to our Airbnb to chill for a bit. We read, played some card games and enjoyed cups of tea. After such a big walk, it was nice to enjoy our little slice of paradise and recharge before heading out for an afternoon snorkel.
Snorkel For Dinner
After such a big day hiking we decided this afternoon’s snorkel would be in the same bay in front of our Airbnb. Whilst we were unsure if there would be a Pāua on the side we hadn’t swam in yesterday we did know where to find some Kina. Either way, we were coming out with some Kai Moana (seafood) to enjoy tonight! Whilst the left side of the bay didn’t yield any Pāua we did get to see a little seahorse. Tiff also swam over a rather large fish which freaked her out and left Nathan in charge of gathering a few Kina for our dinner tonight.
Our first time trying Kina and neither of us is too sure how we feel about it. We rather enjoyed eating it raw, but the recipe we found for cooking it and serving it on crusty bread didn’t pan out as well as we hoped. We did have an entire cheese board with other goodies to eat with our Kina so it was still a delicious meal whilst we watched the sunset over the bay.
Day Three
Explore Ulva Island
We don’t usually like to have big back-to-back days but we have a short amount of time on the island and we needed to keep our tours spread out! So today we booked a boat ride to take us to Ulva Island, a predator-free bird paradise!
We left Golden Bay wharf at 10 am and had our return boat trip booked for 3 pm giving us an entire 5hrs to enjoy this bird sanctuary. Ulva Island is a great place to practice slow travel. The island has about 6km of walking tracks. If you wanted to, you could be done in about an hour. However, if you only took an hour you wouldn’t spot many birds the main reason for being here!
The best way to see the birds is to wonder slowly, to stop and pause, peering into the depths of the bush and wait for the birds to come to you. Trust us, they will come to see what you’re all about if you stay still and quiet. We honestly thought we’d have time to chill on the beaches here but we spent the entire 5hrs wandering around watching birds. We ate our lunch on a bench in the forest and watched Kākā fly around us as we did so! We saw a Tīeke (saddleback) jumping across the forest floor in front of us and watched as a korimako (bellbird) sang us a song from a branch close to the path. We have always loved spotting birds but now we feel like birdwatching is calling!
Afternoon Snorkel
We were starting to worry we wouldn’t find any Pāua whilst on the island so this afternoon we drove out to Horseshoe Bay to have a look for some. The clouds had started to close in and the temperature dropped so it was only Tiff looking in the water whilst Nath tried his luck fishing off the rocks. Whilst it was a nice snorkel Tiff didn’t have any luck finding Pāua, we’ve since realised this was probably because she actively avoided going into or even too close to the seaweed on the rocks. Whilst Nath was determined to catch a fish he didn’t last long on the slippery rocks and we headed back to town to have something else for dinner.
Kai Kart Dinner
What do you do when you don’t catch any fish or Pāua for dinner? Head over to the famous Kai kart of course! Everyone raves about how good the fish and chips are from the Kai kart so we had to give them a go. We aren’t massive fish and chip fans but this was up there! We took our catch home to enjoy at our window with a cold beer. Delicious!
Day Four
Swapping Accommodation
Today is all about chilling and taking in that island life. We had a chill morning at the Airbnb with a cup of tea in bed a good book for Tiff and a game for Nathan. Slow mornings on holidays are so luxurious and we savoured this one. We used the car to drop off our belongings at our Canopy Camping stay. We chose to stay at two different locations for our time here as we wanted a hot tub for our anniversary.
Cafe Time
After dropping the car back at our first stay we popped on our hiking shoes and walked into town. Our Airbnb host had offered to drop us off at our next stay, but we wanted to see what the walking track was like as it looked like a lush rainforest! It was a beautiful walk into town over some small streams and waterfalls.
We decided to have hot drinks and cake at the cutest cafe in town (according to Fi, we definitely agree with her) The Snuggery. We took our treats to a table outside and sat people-watching whilst we waited for our drinks to be made. We were thrilled when a puppy came to give us some love! We found out it was a cafe dog when our drinks were brought out. Once we had our fill of dog love, we continued our walk up some steep hills and through some lovely bush to get to our canopy camping stay.
Relax and Snorkel
This luxurious tiny home built amongst the trees and forest was well situated to bird watch! We have an abundance of windows and a great little reading and bird-watching day bed. Hot drinks were made and we relaxed in the day bed listening to the the rain that we had just managed to avoid on our walk back from town.
Nathan got the fire going inside and for the hot tub before wetsuiting up and trying his luck snorkelling for Pāua at the bay near us. Tiff stayed dry and cosy inside minding the fires and reading her book. Nathan unfortunately didn’t find any Pāua but he didn’t come back empty-handed either! Some fresh mussels made for a great snack cooked in garlic and butter. We managed to fit in a soak in our hot tub when the rain died off a bit. Sitting under the trees watching the birds flying by was pure bliss.
Late Dinner and Kiwi Tour
Luckily for us, the rain stopped by the time we walked back into town for a late dinner at the Pub before our Kiwi tour. Luckily the pub had Pāua dumplings on the menu so we got to enjoy some Pāua! The food here is so good, we even forgot to take photos of our main meals.
After a slow dinner, we still had plenty of time till our 10:30 pm Kiwi spotting tour. We took ourselves across to the bar ordered a gin and tonic and broke out a game of Spot It! The best thing that happened whilst we were killing time was the cop who came in and gave us all a show on the bar’s piano! We got to listen to Titanic and the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song. We still went to the tour early, luckily our tour guide was also early so we got to chat whilst we waited for everyone else to arrive.
It was a cold, windy night but we were all excited at the opportunity of spotting a wild kiwi. Our guide was equipped with a red torch and we set out scouring the edges of the bush for kiwi emerging to forage for food in the long open grass. It did take a little while walking along, losing a little hope that we’d spot one before one appeared! We were lucky enough to watch it walking along and feeding for quite a while. It disappeared just before the second tour group reached us. The tour dropped everyone at their respective stays and we ended up spotting a couple of kiwis driving around town!
Day Five
Enjoy the Morning
After last night’s late Kiwi spotting adventures, we slept in this morning. Our Anniversary was today so we planned a day of relaxation and making the most of our super fancy accommodation. Slow breakfast and morning hot tub soaks were on the menu!
One Last Snorkel
If we were going to get ourselves some Pāua today was the day! Wet suits on, Pāua knife in hand we walked down to the bay near the golf course. We picked some rocks that we decided looked promising and hopped in the water. It didn’t take long for Nathan to get away from Tiff with his flippers and good snorkel. At this point Tiff’s snorkel had started to not work, so she stuck to the shallows and closer rocks whilst Nath ventured further afield.
Thank goodness Nathan had some good gear as he was able to swim out far enough to find us some huge Pāua!! We were both so excited to actually have found some! We couldn’t have asked for a better anniversary present. The Pāua got prepared back at our accommodation. We got one ready for lunch and popped the rest into the fridge to have with our dinner. Omg was it good! We cooked it up with some garlic, butter and chilli and ate it all.
Hot Tub
We spent the rest of the day relaxing. You could either find us on the day bed with a hot drink or soaking in the hot tub in the rain with a glass of bubbles! After some big days on the island exploring and seeing so much it was great to spend this last day soaking in the beauty of the place whilst recharging and relaxing. There was plenty of bird watching to do from the hot tub and lots of recharging whilst listening to the rainfall from our cosy day bed. We were so incredibly lucky to have such good weather on our adventure days and such relaxing weather on our chill days.
Foraged Dinner
Pāua for dinner! We had ourselves some mussels and Pāua with some veggies we grilled on the BBQ. It was a great dinner made even better by the fact we still had some leftover Pāua to put in the freezer and take with us when we left tomorrow. The idea of Pāua pasta back in the van is so exciting!
Day Six
Say Goodbye to Paradise
Sadly today was our time to leave. We packed up our accommodation and were so lucky to have Fi’s Husband (our previous Airbnb host) pick us up and take us to the ferry! We had planned to have a cup of tea and a little treat with Fi and her husband at the Snuggery before we left but unfortunately, they had a last-minute booking to one of the properties they managed and had to do some early morning cleaning. We were so grateful to still get a lift to the ferry as the weather was not great today. So bad in fact that the first ferry off the island had been cancelled!
One Last Treat
Whilst we waited to see if our ferry would still go ahead today we enjoyed one last drink and some cake at the Snuggery cafe. We sat inside this time to avoid the wind and rain outside. Almost everyone in the cafe was doing the same as us, waiting to see if they would be spending another night on the island or if we’d be braving the rough seas to make it back to the mainland.
Ferry Time
We still couldn’t tell you if we are happy that our ferry sailed today. Whilst we did need to get back to the mainland we also really did not enjoy the trip back. We managed a quick catch-up with Fi before the ferry left and got some great advice to sit outside and at the back of the boat.
We popped our seasick tablets as soon as we got the news the ferry was going ahead. Even then we both were feeling very green by the time we made it to Bluff. It was such a wild ride that was kind of fun for the first few minutes and got very stomach-churning after that.
Keen for more inspo? Be sure to check out:
- Why You Should Go Chasing Waterfalls In The Catlins, New Zealand
- 10 Free & Cheap Things To Do In Blenheim
- Best Short Walks in Nelson/Tasman Region
