Wondrous Aotearoa
Our naturally gorgeous Stewart Island and Milford Sound are among Lonely Planet’s Wonders of the World.
Lonely Planet’s new book reveals 101 of the world’s most spectacular sights, including two in New Zealand, and how to see them on any budget.
Stewart Island
New Zealand’s third island feels a million miles from the North and South Islands. Named Stewart Island by colonial settlers, and Rakiura (‘‘glowing skies’’) by the original Ma¯ ori inhabitants of the area, this sparsely populated island has just one town, few roads and just a few hundred inhabitants, which explains why it offers your best chance of spotting a kiwi in the wild.
Most of the island is protected by a 1400-squarekilometre national park, where you can get far from the nearest human being and imagine New Zealand as it might have been before homo sapiens first tramped on to the scene.
While you explore its silent beaches, muddy swamps, ribbon-like inlets and fern-filled forests, look out for chance encounters with kiwi, which wander at will in this predator-free sprawl of hills.
At points along the shoreline, you can gaze out over empty waters that stretch, uninterrupted, all the way to Antarctica, beneath a curtain of lights from the aurora australis, and feel just a hint of the lonely freedom of the fishermen who have moored here across the centuries.
Afterwards, reset your sense of perspective with a pint at the South Sea Hotel, the southernmost pub in New Zealand.
Travel international
It’s often said that visitors to Stewart Island have a choice between 10 minutes of terror or an hour of torture. Wind-tossed flights connect the island’s only town, Oban, to Invercargill, or you can brave the ocean for an hour-long ferry crossing from Bluff over the notoriously choppy Foveaux Strait. Flights connect Invercargill to Dunedin International Airport, but the only international flight from there is to Brisbane, so you may need to connect through Auckland or Christchurch.
Regional
Stewart Island has only one town, which is where almost everyone arrives, and most of the island’s 20km of roads link Oban to surrounding bays outside the national park area.
To penetrate deeper into the interior, you have to walk, but water taxis can drop you off at remote bays around the national park so you can start your tramp in pristine nature.
Sea kayaks are another popular way to explore, but most paddlers stay close to Oban in Paterson Inlet.
Stay
Shoestring: Bunkers Backpackers: A handy central location in Oban and a sunny garden add to the appeal at this small, cosy backpacker hostel in an old wooden villa. (Dorms from $34, rooms from $80; bunkersbackpackers.co.nz)
Flush: Observation Rock Lodge: Perfectly positioned for views of sea, sunset and aurora, this small, graceful lodge has a bush setting and luxurious rooms with private decks. (Rooms from $395; observationrocklodge.co.nz)
Eat
Shoestring: South Sea Hotel: This iconic pub is an essential Oban stop for cold beer by the quart, fish and chip suppers and great bar banter. (Mains from $18; southseahotel.co.nz)
Flush: Church Hill Restaurant & Oyster Bar:
Local oysters, salmon and crayfish dominate the menu at this hilltop heritage villa, serving Oban’s best sit-down dinners. (Mains from $38; churchhill.co.nz)
Timing
■ Stewart Island edges into the roaring forties so rain falls regularly year-round and its muddy trails are often waterlogged.
■ The cool winter from June to August is best avoided for camping, but there’s more competition for space in overnight huts from December to February.
■ Ferry crossings from Bluff to Oban are reduced from May to September, but this is the best time to catch the aurora australis.
Best value itineraries
Four days: Four days is really the minimum if you want to get into the interior of Stewart Island. The glorious Rakiura Track takes three days to loop around the isthmus inland from Oban, offering prime kiwi-spotting opportunities en route, with accommodation in trekkers’ huts or campsites along the trail.
On the way you’ll walk lonely beaches with hardly a footprint on the sand, and forest trails dripping with fern fronds, taking in stunning views across the island and ocean.
At the end there’s a day for exploring tiny, friendly Oban and the surrounding bays or kayaking on Paterson Inlet.
Seven to 10 days: With up to 10 days, you can really leave the masses behind and get far from humanity on the north or western coasts of the island. The easier Southern Circuit offers a six-day transect across the centre of Stewart Island from Halfmoon Bay or the Freshwater boat landing, following forested valleys to Mason Bay with hut accommodation for each overnight stop. You’ll need nine days or more for the tougher North West Circuit, linking a string of trekkers’ huts around the north end of the island, passing dune-backed beaches, rocky headlands and ferny forests. Milford Sound
New Zealand has a full hand of epic landscapes, from mountain glaciers to fern-filled forests, but even in this company, Milford Sound (Piopiotahi to the indigenous people of South Island) stands out.
Dominated by the soaring buttress of 1692-metre Mitre Peak, this dramatic inlet was carved by glaciers during the last ice age. When the ice sheets
retreated some 10,000 years ago, they left behind an almost supernatural landscape of sculpted mountains rising sheer from the mirrored surface of the fjord.
Viewed from the cruise ships that navigate the calm waters of the sound, the peaks rise like breaching humpback whales, isolating the inlet from the outside world.
When it rains, which it does often in this corner of the South Island, foamy cascades surge downhill into the sound, slowing to a trickle when the skies clear again. Stirling and Lady Bowen falls are the most reliable performers, kicking up rainbows of spray when the sun emerges after rain.
To fully appreciate the scale of the landscape, you need to get down to water level. Trade the cruise ships for a guided kayak tour or don scuba gear and explore the remarkable terrain below the water – a playground for octopus, seals, penguins and dolphins.
Travel international
Tourist flights drop into tiny Milford Sound
Airport from Queenstown, Wa¯ naka and Te A¯ nau, but Queenstown has the only airport with international connections.
A handful of airlines serve Sydney and the east coast of Australia, but for connections to Asia and further afield, you’ll need to fly first to Dunedin or Christchurch.
Buses run to the sound from Queenstown and Te A¯ nau, but many visitors prefer to come here on self-drive campervan trips.
Regional
Most people visit Milford Sound from Queenstown or Te A¯ nau as this natural wonder has limited infrastructure and places to stay, apart from the Milford Sound Lodge and berths on visiting cruise ships.
Buses and tourist flights run daily from both towns, making day trips a popular option. Selfdrivers should fill up before leaving Queenstown or Te A¯ nau as prices are elevated at the lone pump in the sound.
Stay
Shoestring: Te A¯ nau Lakefront Backpackers: The lakefront location ensures lovely views from this popular hostel in Te A¯ nau, which offers a choice of simple bunkrooms or smarter private rooms. (Dorms from $20, rooms from $88; teanaubackpackers.co.nz)
Flush: Milford Sound Lodge: Rustic chic is the catchword at this rural lodge providing everything from wow factor chalets to pocket-friendly dorms, as well as jaw-dropping views. (Dorms from $40, chalets from $415; milfordlodge.com)
Eat
Shoestring: Sandfly Cafe: Locals and outsiders come together at this lively Te A¯ nau hangout, great for morning coffee, hearty breakfasts and light lunches. (Mains from $7)
Flush: Public Kitchen & Bar: This lakeside Queenstown eatery makes full use of meat and produce from local farms. Come for a slap-up dinner after a day trip to the sound. (Mains from $12; publickitchen.co.nz)
Timing
■ Milford Sound is famously green and pleasant – credit for this goes to the abundant rains, which swell the waterfalls year round, most spectacularly in December and January.
■ The weather is drier from June to August, but temperatures dip and the waterfalls thunder a little less dramatically. The shoulder seasons from March to May and September to November strike a happy compromise, with fewer visitors, but plenty of waterworks.
Best value itineraries
Three to four days: Due to the limited accommodation available on the sound, most visitors come on day trips from Queenstown or Te A¯ nau, so consider an itinerary linking all three places, leaving room for some adventure activities on the side.
Start with a couple of days in Queenstown, reserving one day for rafting, tramping, paragliding, bungy-jumping, canyoning or climbing in the fabulous countryside outside town.
On day three, head off early for the sound and immerse yourself in the stunning scenery, both on arrival and along the route, before overnighting at Milford Sound Lodge.
Continue on day four to Te A¯ nau, which serves up its own set of stunning lakeside landscapes.
Seven to 10 days: With a week to spare, it would be a shame to enjoy the wonders of the sound for just a day.
The legendary Milford Track runs from Glade Wharf on Lake Te A¯ nau to Milford Sound in four scenery-filled days, passing towering waterfalls, lofty mountain passes, plunging glacial valleys, and pockets of rainforest. Boats zip trekkers from Te A¯ nau to Glade Wharf, but visitor numbers are strictly controlled and the route is booked out within days of opening.
Head on to Queenstown to enjoy the food and party mood, then continue the fun at Wa¯ naka for a more low-key vision of lakeside living.
Reproduced with permission from Lonely Planet’s Wonders of the World © 2019, lonelyplanet.com