Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
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 days · Dunedin to Queenstown · up to 12 guests
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)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Dunedin to Queenstown
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 3 h on day 5No drive day is longer than 4 hours.
- Activity level
Moderate
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.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 745 (estimated price)
- Season
- November to April
Highlights
Why this trip
- 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
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day, and none is longer than 4 hours.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 745 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 3 h, on day 5.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Dunedin
Dunedin Airport to your hotel in central Dunedin, then a walk round the city centre
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Dunedin
- Drive about 30 min
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.
Afternoon
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.
Evening
The walk ends at a welcome dinner at a restaurant in the centre, a few minutes from the hotel.
Included
- 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
Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing
Activity: 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
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Dunedin
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
The morning is free in Dunedin: Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is free to enter and five minutes from the Octagon, or sleep in.
Afternoon
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.
Evening
Dinner together is on the peninsula, then back to Dunedin.
Included
- 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
Optional experiences
- Little blue penguins coming ashore after dark at Pilots Beach
- Wildlife cruise off Taiaroa Head to see albatross from the water
Easier option: Stay in the castle tearoom instead of the gardens; the penguin hides are reached by short paths and some steps.
More active option: In the free morning, walk with your guide up Signal Hill above the city, about 1.5 hours return.
Free time: Morning free in Dunedin
Activity: 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.
Nugget Point and Purakaunui Falls
Dunedin to Balclutha, Kaka Point and Nugget Point, then Owaka and Purakaunui Falls
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Owaka (the Catlins)
- Drive about 3 h
We leave Dunedin at 9 am and drive south through farmland to Balclutha, about an hour, then turn for the coast at Kaka Point. Nugget Point, Tokatā, is the Catlins' best-known headland: a walk of about 20 minutes each way on a formed track climbs to the 1870 lighthouse, with the Nuggets, a line of sea-worn rocks, running out to sea below. New Zealand fur seals haul out on the rocks, and sometimes elephant seals.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal nearby. In the afternoon we reach Owaka, the Catlins' main village and our base for two nights, and drop the luggage. Then a short drive inland to Purakaunui Falls, about 10 minutes' walk through beech and podocarp forest to falls that step down three tiers of rock.
Evening
Dinner together tonight in Owaka.
Included
- Guided walk to the Nugget Point lighthouse
- Sit-down lunch near Kaka Point
- Guided walk to Purakaunui Falls
- Dinner in Owaka
Easier option: Wait at the Nugget Point car park lookout, which has a view of the coast, and take the short, flat path at Purakaunui Falls only as far as you like.
More active option: Walk down with your guide to the Roaring Bay hide near the Nugget Point car park, about 15 minutes each way, to look for yellow-eyed penguins on the beach.
Free time: Late afternoon free in Owaka
Activity: About 2 hours 45 minutes of driving with stops. The Nugget Point track has a steady climb and can be windy.
Cathedral Caves, McLean Falls and Curio Bay
Owaka to Cathedral Caves and McLean Falls, then Curio Bay and Porpoise Bay, and back to Owaka
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Owaka (the Catlins)
- Drive about 2.5 h
Evening
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.
Included
- 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
Easier option: 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.
More active option: 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.
Free time: Evening free in Owaka; a booked table for anyone who wants to eat together
Activity: 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
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Oban (Stewart Island)
- Drive about 3 h
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.
Afternoon
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.
Evening
Weka wander the beach, and dinner is together. If tonight's forecast is better than tomorrow's, the kiwi-spotting tour runs tonight instead.
Included
- 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
Optional experiences
- Flight from Invercargill to Stewart Island in place of the ferry, about 20 minutes, booked at cost
Easier option: Fly from Invercargill to Stewart Island instead of taking the ferry; your guide meets you at the Oban airstrip shuttle.
Free time: Late afternoon free in Oban
Activity: 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
- Breakfast
- Stay in Oban (Stewart Island)
- Drive about 24 min
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.
Morning
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.
Afternoon
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.
Evening
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.
Included
- 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
Optional experiences
- Sea kayaking on Paterson Inlet
- Fishing trip from Halfmoon Bay
Easier option: On Ulva Island, stay on the flat track near the wharf with a seat by Sydney Cove while the group walks the longer loop.
More active option: 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.
Free time: Lunch and early evening free in Oban
Activity: 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.
Back across the strait and on to Queenstown
Oban to Bluff by ferry, then Bluff to Invercargill, Lumsden, Kingston and Queenstown
- Breakfast
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
A morning ferry takes us back across Foveaux Strait to Bluff, about an hour, at a time we confirm at booking; the same note on rough water applies, and the flight to Invercargill is again an option. Our van and driver meet the boat.
Afternoon
We drive north through Invercargill and the farmland of central Southland to Lumsden, then along the eastern shore of Lake Wakatipu from Kingston, with the Remarkables ahead of us, about 215 km and 3 hours with a stop for lunch on the way, which is on you. We reach Queenstown Airport in the mid-afternoon and the town a few minutes later. Book a flight leaving after about 5 pm, or stay on in Queenstown: this trip runs straight into our Queenstown, Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound trip, and we can quote extra nights in between.
Included
- Ferry from Oban to Bluff
- Drive from Bluff to Queenstown with your guide
- Drop-off at Queenstown Airport (ZQN) or your hotel in town
Optional experiences
- Flight from Stewart Island to Invercargill in place of the ferry, booked at cost
Activity: Book a flight out of Queenstown leaving after about 5 pm. About an hour on the ferry and 3 hours of driving.
- Dunedin2 nights
- Owaka (the Catlins)2 nights
- Oban (Stewart Island)2 nights
- Queenstownend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: 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.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- 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
Not for you if you want
- 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
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Dunedin2 nights
- Owaka (the Catlins)2 nights
- Oban (Stewart Island)2 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 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)
Your 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
Activities
- 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
Meals
- 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
Not included
- 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
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 745 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
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+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 3,735 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 4,045. From Jan 1, 2027: from 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 has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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