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New Zealand's Deep South: Dunedin, the Catlins and Stewart Island

7 days from Dunedin to Queenstown: albatross and penguins on the Otago Peninsula, two nights in the Catlins and two on Stewart Island.

7 jours · Dunedin à Queenstown · jusqu'à 12 voyageurs

Purakaunui Falls in the Catlins Photo: Mark Oliver Dittrich. Released into public domain on his behalf., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purakaunui_Falls_In_Caitlins_New_Zealand.jpg)

Offre du Vendredi fou15 % de rabais

À partir de CAD 3,735

par personne, en chambre partagée

Économisez CAD 660 par personne

Pour les demandes en petit groupe reçues au plus tard le 1er déc. 2026. Du 2 déc. au 31 déc. : à partir de CAD 4,045. À compter du 1er janv. 2027 : à partir de CAD 4,395.

Taxes et frais compris

Prix estimé. L'itinéraire, les hôtels et les disponibilités sont proposés sous réserve de confirmation. Votre devis précisera les conditions de réservation; l'envoi d'une demande ne confirme pas une réservation.

Formule de voyage

Small groupGroupes de 7 à 12 personnesCAD 3,735Offre du Vendredi fouPrix estiméPrivateCAD 7,910Prix estimé

Total pour 2 adultes (prix estimé)

CAD 7,470

Rien n'est facturé maintenant. Nous vérifions les disponibilités, puis nous vous envoyons votre devis et les coordonnées de l'organisateur.

Chambre individuelle : + CAD 745 (prix estimé)

Voir toutes les dates

Les coordonnées de l'organisateur et les conditions sont confirmées dans votre devis, avant que vous acceptiez.

4.7/5 sur 38 601 avis de voyageurs portant sur nos visites d'une journée

Les faits

En bref

Durée: 7 jours, 6 nuits
Départ et arrivée: Dunedin à Queenstown
Taille du groupe: 7 à 12 voyageurs
Trajet le plus long: 3 h le jour 5Aucun trajet ne dépasse 4 heures.
Niveau d'activité: Modéré
Walks of up to about 2 hours at a time on formed tracks, beaches and some steps, about 3 to 4 hours on foot on the busiest days. The Nugget Point track has a steady climb, Cathedral Caves have a steep path down to the beach, and Ulva Island is about 2 to 3 hours of gentle walking on bush tracks. The Foveaux Strait ferry is often rough. You can sit out any walk.
Repas compris: 6 petits-déjeuners, 3 repas du midi, 3 repas du soir
Chambre individuelle: + CAD 745 (prix estimé)
Saison: November to April

Points forts

Pourquoi ce voyage

Northern royal albatross gliding over Taiaroa Head at the tip of the Otago Peninsula
Yellow-eyed penguins, hoiho, coming ashore in the late afternoon, watched from hides
The Nugget Point lighthouse above a line of sea-worn rocks, with fur seals below
Purakaunui Falls stepping down through the Catlins bush
The fossil forest at Curio Bay at low tide, and Hector's dolphins in Porpoise Bay
Across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island, Rakiura, for two nights in Oban
Ulva Island with a local guide: saddleback, robins, kākā and weka in a predator-free forest
Out after dark with a kiwi-spotting tour on Stewart Island

Ce qui distingue ce voyage

Des trajets courts, tous publiés
Chaque trajet est indiqué jour par jour, et aucun ne dépasse 4 heures.
Le temps libre fait partie du programme
Le temps libre et les choix sont indiqués les jours où ils ont lieu.
En solo, sans pénalité
Une chambre individuelle coûte + CAD 745 (prix estimé).

Jour par jour

Itinéraire

Le trajet le plus long dure 3 h, le jour 5.

Touchez une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jourCliquez sur une étape de la carte pour ouvrir ce jour

Arrive in Dunedin

Dunedin Airport to your hotel in central Dunedin, then a walk round the city centre

Welcome dinner
Nuit : Dunedin
Environ 30 min de route

Fly into Dunedin Airport (DUD), about 30 km south-west of the city, where a driver meets you for the half-hour transfer to your central hotel.

Après-midi

Most flights from Canada connect through Auckland, so the afternoon is free to rest; plan to land by about 3 pm. At around 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the wildlife days work, what the tides and the Foveaux Strait can do, and what to wear. Then we walk the centre together. Dunedin was settled by Scottish Presbyterians in 1848 and grew rich in the Otago gold rush of the 1860s, and it shows: the eight-sided Octagon with its statue of Robert Burns, the stone First Church, and the Flemish-style railway station with its mosaic floor.

Soir

The walk ends at a welcome dinner at a restaurant in the centre, a few minutes from the hotel.

Compris

Pick-up at Dunedin Airport (DUD)
Welcome briefing with your guide
Guided walk: the Octagon, First Church and the Dunedin Railway Station
Welcome dinner in Dunedin

Temps libre : Free until the early-evening briefing

Activité : Plan to land by about 3 pm; if you arrive later, your guide meets you at dinner. The walk is about an hour on city streets.

The Otago Peninsula: albatross and penguins

Dunedin along the Otago Peninsula to Larnach Castle, Taiaroa Head and a penguin reserve, then back to Dunedin

Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
Nuit : Dunedin
Environ 2 h de route

Matin

The morning is free in Dunedin: Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is free to enter and five minutes from the Octagon, or sleep in.

Après-midi

We leave after an early lunch on your own and drive up onto the spine of the Otago Peninsula to Larnach Castle, a stone house finished in the 1870s, for an hour in its gardens with views down the harbour. Then out to Taiaroa Head at the peninsula's tip, where the Royal Albatross Centre looks after the only mainland breeding colony of albatross in the world. A guide explains the birds, and from the centre and the headland, or the observatory when it is open, you look for northern royal albatross, with a wingspan of about three metres, riding the wind. In the late afternoon, when they come ashore from fishing, we join a guided tour at a yellow-eyed penguin reserve, watching hoiho from covered trenches and hides.

Soir

Dinner together is on the peninsula, then back to Dunedin.

Compris

Larnach Castle gardens
Royal Albatross Centre guided tour, Taiaroa Head (the observatory when open)
Guided tour at a yellow-eyed penguin reserve on the Otago Peninsula
Dinner on the Otago Peninsula

Activités en option

Little blue penguins coming ashore after dark at Pilots Beach
Wildlife cruise off Taiaroa Head to see albatross from the water

Option plus facile : Stay in the castle tearoom instead of the gardens; the penguin hides are reached by short paths and some steps.

Option plus active : In the free morning, walk with your guide up Signal Hill above the city, about 1.5 hours return.

Temps libre : Morning free in Dunedin

Activité : About 2 hours of driving on narrow peninsula roads. The albatross observatory is closed for part of the breeding season, and we confirm at booking whether it is open on your dates; when it is closed, you see the birds from the centre and the headland.

Cathedral Caves, McLean Falls and Curio Bay

Owaka to Cathedral Caves and McLean Falls, then Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay, and back to Owaka

Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
Nuit : Owaka (the Catlins)
Environ 2.5 h de route

Soir

Today runs by the tide table, so your guide sets the order the night before. Cathedral Caves, on Waipati Beach, can only be reached for about two hours either side of low tide: a path drops through forest to the sand and a walk along the beach brings you to sea caves about 30 metres high. Nearby, McLean Falls is about 40 minutes return through the forest to a 22-metre fall. Lunch is a sit-down meal on the way. At Curio Bay, when the tide is out, the rock platform shows the stumps and fallen logs of a forest about 180 million years old, turned to stone. Next door, Porpoise Bay is a summer home of Hector's dolphins, among the smallest dolphins anywhere; they often swim close to the beach, and you watch from the sand. Yellow-eyed penguins sometimes land on the platform in the evening. We drive back to Owaka in the late afternoon. The evening is free, and your guide books a table in Owaka for anyone who wants company at dinner.

Compris

Cathedral Caves at low tide, when open for the season
Guided walk to McLean Falls
Sit-down lunch in the southern Catlins
Curio Bay fossil forest at low tide
Porpoise Bay and its Hector's dolphins, from the beach

Option plus facile : Skip the steep path to Cathedral Caves and wait with the driver at the car park; Curio Bay's fossil forest is seen from a viewing platform a few steps from the car park.

Option plus active : Walk the full length of Porpoise Bay beach and back with your guide, about an hour, while the rest of the group stays at the dolphin viewpoint.

Temps libre : Evening free in Owaka; a booked table for anyone who wants to eat together

Activité : About 2 hours 20 minutes of driving. Cathedral Caves are on private land and open only from about late October or November to May, and spring tides can delay the opening; if they are shut, the guide takes you to Nugget Point's Roaring Bay or the sea lions at Surat Bay instead. The path is steep and the beach walk is on soft sand. Do not approach the dolphins; let them come to you.

Invercargill, Bluff and across to Stewart Island

Owaka along the Southern Scenic Route to Invercargill, then Bluff, then the ferry across Foveaux Strait to Oban

Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
Nuit : Oban (Stewart Island)
Environ 3 h de route

Invercargill's red-brick water tower with arched windows and a domed steel tank on top, on a lawn under heavy grey cloud — Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Invercargill_Water_Tower._(52083405924).jpg)

We leave Owaka at 9 am along the Southern Scenic Route, through Chaslands and past Waipapa Point, about 2 hours 30 minutes, to Invercargill, New Zealand's southernmost city. Your guide gives the city a real hour, not a drive-past: the red-brick water tower of 1889, seen from outside, Queens Park, and the hardware store where Burt Munro's record-breaking motorcycle stands among the tools.

Après-midi

Lunch together in the centre. Then 30 minutes south to Bluff and the signpost at Stirling Point, and on to the ferry. The crossing of Foveaux Strait to Oban on Stewart Island takes about an hour and is often rough, so take seasickness tablets before boarding if you need them; if you would rather fly, the small plane from Invercargill takes about 20 minutes and can be booked at cost. The van stays in Bluff and your guide crosses with you. Oban is a village of a few hundred people on Halfmoon Bay.

Soir

Weka wander the beach, and dinner is together. If tonight's forecast is better than tomorrow's, the kiwi-spotting tour runs tonight instead.

Compris

Guided hour in Invercargill: the water tower, Queens Park and Burt Munro's motorcycle
Lunch in Invercargill
Stirling Point, Bluff
Ferry from Bluff to Oban, Stewart Island
Dinner in Oban
Kiwi-spotting tour tonight instead of night 6, if the forecast is better

Activités en option

Flight from Invercargill to Stewart Island in place of the ferry, about 20 minutes, booked at cost

Option plus facile : Fly from Invercargill to Stewart Island instead of taking the ferry; your guide meets you at the Oban airstrip shuttle.

Temps libre : Late afternoon free in Oban

Activité : About 3 hours of driving with stops, then about an hour on the ferry. Foveaux Strait is often rough: if you are prone to seasickness, take tablets before you board or choose the flight.

Ulva Island and the bays of Stewart Island

Oban to Golden Bay, water taxi to Ulva Island, then Lee Bay and Observation Rock, with kiwi spotting after dark

Petit-déjeuner
Nuit : Oban (Stewart Island)
Environ 24 min de route

A rusted steel chain-link sculpture in flax and bush, framing a curved sand beach and green hills under cloud — Photo: Jim & Robin Kunze, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stewart_Island_New_Zealand_-_49640726133.jpg)

About 85 percent of Stewart Island is Rakiura National Park, and Ulva Island, ten minutes by water taxi from Golden Bay, is its open sanctuary, kept free of rats and stoats.

Matin

In the morning a local naturalist guide walks the group along its bush tracks for about 2 to 3 hours. The birds that are rare on the mainland are close here: tīeke, the saddleback, Stewart Island robins that come to your boots, kākā, rifleman, yellowhead and weka, and sometimes a Stewart Island kiwi feeding by day.

Après-midi

Back in Oban for a lunch of your own choosing. In the afternoon a local vehicle and driver on the island take the group along its short road network to Lee Bay, where a giant anchor chain sculpture marks the start of the Rakiura Track, and up to Observation Rock for the view over Paterson Inlet.

Soir

After dark tonight, or on night 5 if the forecast is better, a local operator takes the group kiwi spotting with red torches. Sightings are likely but not guaranteed.

Compris

Water taxi to Ulva Island
Guided walk on Ulva Island with a local naturalist guide
Village and bays drive: Lee Bay and Observation Rock
Kiwi-spotting tour after dark

Activités en option

Sea kayaking on Paterson Inlet
Fishing trip from Halfmoon Bay

Option plus facile : On Ulva Island, stay on the flat track near the wharf with a seat by Sydney Cove while the group walks the longer loop.

Option plus active : Walk the first section of the Rakiura Track from Lee Bay to Maori Beach with your guide, about 2 to 3 hours return, in place of Observation Rock.

Temps libre : Lunch and early evening free in Oban

Activité : About 2 to 3 hours of gentle walking on Ulva Island. If wind stops the water taxi in the morning, the guide swaps the Ulva walk and the bays drive. The kiwi tour is late at night in summer and runs only if the weather allows, which is why it can move to night 5.

Dunedin2 nuits
Owaka (the Catlins)2 nuits
Oban (Stewart Island)2 nuits
Queenstownarrivée

Étape avec nuitée
Excursion d'une journée
En bateau ou en train

Imprimer l'itinéraire

Faune et météo : November to April is late spring, summer and early autumn in the far south, and it is cooler and windier than the rest of New Zealand: expect 12 to 20 degrees, rain on some days and long summer evenings. Albatross are at Taiaroa Head year-round, but the centre's observatory is closed for part of the breeding season, which we confirm at booking; chicks hatch from late January. Yellow-eyed penguins raise chicks from about November to February. Hector's dolphins visit Porpoise Bay mostly in summer. Stewart Island kiwi are seen in every month, but no sighting is guaranteed.

Vous voulez recevoir ce programme par courriel?

Recevez l'itinéraire jour par jour par courriel, ou posez-nous vos questions sur ce voyage. Un conseiller en voyages vous répond le jour même ou le jour ouvrable suivant.

Avant de réserver

Ce voyage est-il pour vous?

Ce voyage vous convient si vous recherchez

Wildlife and bird lovers: albatross, three kinds of penguin, Hector's dolphins, seals and kiwi
Travellers who have seen Queenstown and Milford and want the quieter south
Walkers comfortable with up to 2 hours at a time on tracks and beaches
Solo travellers who want a fixed, published single price
A trip that ends in Queenstown and runs straight into our Fiordland trip

Ce voyage ne vous convient pas si vous recherchez

Travellers who get badly seasick and will not fly: Stewart Island means an hour on a rough strait or a small plane
Those who want large hotels: the Catlins and Stewart Island have lodges and motel units
Adrenaline days: no jet boats or bungy are built in
Fiordland: Milford and Doubtful Sound are on our separate Queenstown and Fiordland trip

Réservez vos vols une fois votre place confirmée.

6 nuits

Où vous logerez

Vos hôtels sont nommés dans la confirmation de votre voyage.

Dunedin2 nuits
Owaka (the Catlins)2 nuits
Oban (Stewart Island)2 nuits

Un seul prix

Ce que le prix comprend

Compris

Hébergement

6 nights: Dunedin 2, Owaka in the Catlins 2 and Oban on Stewart Island 2
In Dunedin, a central hotel of a 3-star-plus standard within about a 10-minute walk of the Octagon
In Owaka and Oban, the best lodge, motel-unit or hotel rooms available, all with their own bathroom
Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
We name each place when we confirm your dates

Transport

Pick-up at Dunedin Airport (DUD) and drop-off at Queenstown Airport (ZQN) or your Queenstown hotel
Our own vehicle and driver for the group, with your luggage carried door to door
Ferry from Bluff to Stewart Island and back
Water taxi to Ulva Island and back
A local vehicle and driver on Stewart Island for the bays drive (our own van waits in Bluff)

Votre guide

A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, including on Stewart Island
The guides at the Royal Albatross Centre and the penguin reserve, a local naturalist guide on Ulva Island and the kiwi-spotting guides

Activités

Guided walk in central Dunedin
Larnach Castle gardens, Otago Peninsula
Royal Albatross Centre guided tour, Taiaroa Head
Yellow-eyed penguin reserve tour, Otago Peninsula
Nugget Point lighthouse walk, the Catlins
Purakaunui Falls and McLean Falls, the Catlins
Cathedral Caves at low tide, the Catlins
Curio Bay fossil forest and Porpoise Bay, the Catlins
Guided hour in Invercargill and Stirling Point, Bluff
Ulva Island guided walk, Stewart Island
Village and bays drive to Lee Bay and Observation Rock, Stewart Island
Kiwi-spotting tour, Stewart Island

Repas

6 breakfasts
3 lunches: near Kaka Point, in the southern Catlins and in Invercargill
4 dinners: a welcome dinner in Dunedin, on the Otago Peninsula, in Owaka and in Oban

Non compris

International flights to Dunedin and from Queenstown
The NZeTA and the NZ$100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy
Travel insurance
Lunches and dinners not listed
Drinks
Optional activities: the Invercargill to Stewart Island flight, the little blue penguins at Pilots Beach, wildlife cruises, kayaking and fishing
Tips
Personal expenses

Suppléments

Chambre individuelle: CAD 745 (prix estimé)

Quand partir

Dates et prix

Choisissez votre date de départ au moment de votre demande de réservation. Nous vérifions cette date et la confirmons dans votre devis.

Vous préférez voyager sans groupe ni guide? Demandez-nous d'organiser vos hôtels, vos transports et vos visites de ville pour voyager en autonomie.

Avant de réserver

Conditions de réservation

Rien n'est facturé maintenant. Les conditions complètes et le barème d'annulation accompagnent votre devis, avant que vous acceptiez.

Adresses de l'entreprise

See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584

Avis des voyageurs

Ce que disent nos voyageurs

Avis de voyageurs ayant participé à nos visites d'une journée.

Cornelius Amann

06 octobre 2026

5/5

Parminder did a great job guiding us around, giving us tips & teaching us the history of the falls. A great experience!

Jane

06 octobre 2026

5/5

Good views of the surrounding area of Halifax in a comfortable minivan

Susan

06 octobre 2026

5/5

June was brilliant- made good contact beforehand and really attentive and knowledgeable. Made me feel like I was special- something only experience can do. Thank you June.

Tom L

05 octobre 2026

5/5

Our host was very knowledgeable, friendly and even provided some humor.

MandL83

05 octobre 2026

5/5

Peter was a very good guide, giving us insight into the various parts of the Park, including parking lot congestion details, trail and viewing location suggestions.

Darren O

05 octobre 2026

5/5

Excellent morning spent with my guide Nancy. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Thoroughly enjoyed my trip

4.7/5 sur 38 601 avis de voyageurs

Bon à savoir

Questions

Les prix indiqués dans ces réponses s'appliquent à compter du 1er janv. 2027. Offre du Vendredi fou : 15 % de rabais sur le prix en petit groupe pour les demandes reçues au plus tard le 1er déc. 2026. À partir de CAD 3,735 par personne. Du 2 déc. au 31 déc. : à partir de CAD 4,045. À compter du 1er janv. 2027 : à partir de CAD 4,395.

What does the price include?

Six nights' accommodation, 6 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 4 dinners, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, the ferry to Stewart Island and back, the Royal Albatross Centre, a yellow-eyed penguin reserve tour, Larnach Castle gardens, Cathedral Caves when open, the guided Ulva Island walk with water taxi, a kiwi-spotting tour and a See Sight Tours guide for all seven days.

How big is the group?

The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That matters here: penguin hides, the Ulva Island tracks and the kiwi tours take small numbers, and Owaka and Oban have small lodges and restaurants that cannot take a coach group.

Who leads the trip?

A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all seven days, from the Dunedin airport pick-up to the Queenstown drop-off, and crosses to Stewart Island with you. Specialist guides lead the albatross and penguin tours, the Ulva Island walk and the kiwi spotting. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.

How rough is the ferry to Stewart Island?

Often rough. Foveaux Strait is open to swell from the Southern Ocean, and the crossing of about an hour can be uncomfortable on a windy day. Take seasickness tablets before boarding if you are prone to it. If you would rather not cross by sea, the small-plane flight from Invercargill takes about 20 minutes and we book it at cost.

Will we see kiwi, albatross and penguins?

Albatross at Taiaroa Head and yellow-eyed penguins on the reserve tour are commonly seen, though wild animals keep their own hours. Kiwi on Stewart Island are seen on most tours but not every one, so we run the tour on whichever of the two nights has the better forecast. Hector's dolphins are in Porpoise Bay mostly in summer.

How fit do I need to be?

Moderately. Walks are up to about 2 hours at a time on formed tracks and beaches. The Nugget Point track has a steady climb, the Cathedral Caves path is steep with soft sand at the bottom, and Ulva Island is 2 to 3 hours of gentle bush walking. You can sit out any walk; the guide lists an easier choice each day.

I am travelling solo. What will I pay?

A room of your own costs CAD 745 more, the same for everyone travelling alone, and it is shown before you book, not added later. If you would rather share, ask us to match you with another solo traveller when you request to book; the supplement applies only if we cannot find a match.

When is the best time to go?

November to April. December to February is warmest, with long evenings and penguin chicks in the nests. Albatross chicks hatch from late January. The albatross observatory closes for part of the breeding season; we confirm at booking whether it is open on your dates. Expect cool, windy days and some rain at any time.

Can I combine this with Fiordland and Milford Sound?

Yes. This trip ends in Queenstown, where our 5-day Queenstown, Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound trip begins, so the two make a 12-day deep south and Fiordland journey. We can also quote extra nights in Queenstown in between, or link it with our 10-day South Island trip.

Do I need a visa for New Zealand?

Canadians and visitors from many other visa-waiver countries need an NZeTA, NZ$17 in the official app or NZ$23 online, and pay the NZ$100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy when they apply. Neither is in the trip price. Check the current rules for your passport before you book flights.

How do I book, and can we go on our own dates?

Pick a date and send a request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 4,395 per person sharing, with taxes. For your own dates or an extra night on Stewart Island, choose the private trip from CAD 7,910 per person, or ask us for an independent quote.

See Sight Tours offre des services de voyage partout en Amérique du Nord depuis 2006. Présente dans 20 villes au Canada et aux États-Unis, l'entreprise se spécialise dans les tours en petit groupe qui offrent des expériences personnalisées et de grande qualité aux voyageurs.