Stewart Island

Ferry from Stewart Island to New Zealand

There is currently just the 1 ferry route running between Stewart Island and New Zealand operated by 1 ferry company – Stewart Island Experience. The Oban (Stewart Island) to Bluff ferry crossing operates weekly with a scheduled sailing duration from about 1 hour.

Whilst we’ve taken great care to ensure the information on this page is correct, as the frequency and duration of crossings on all routes can vary from time to time we’d advise that you get a live quote for current availability on this Stewart Island New Zealand crossing between Oban (Stewart Island) and Bluff.

Route map

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Ferries from Stewart Island to New Zealand

About Stewart Island:

Stewart Island is the third largest in New Zealand, situated 30 kilometres south of the South Island.

Lying just across the Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island has one of the country’s most untouched landscapes. It is fast becoming a popular eco-tourism destination, boasting immaculate beaches, dense forests and picturesque bays.

As you would expect from an island with unspoilt terrain, Stewart is home to many species of bird including 20,000 of the endangered brown kiwi, the flightless Stewart Island kiwi and the nearly extinct kakapo parrot.

It’s also a great location for adventure sports like kayaking and walking, where, on an evening stroll, you might catch a glimpse of the spectacular Aurora Australis. As for hiking, the 39-kilometre trek along the Rakiura Track lasts 3 days, taking you through some of the national park, across high ridges and along the beautiful Paterson Inlet.

Stewart Island makes a fantastic day trip or short excursion from the South Island, so there are frequent crossings back to the town of Bluff which usually last around an hour.

About New Zealand:

New Zealand is a small country, similar in size to Great Britain or Japan. With a population of only four million people it’s gloriously un-crowded and many areas are sparsely settled.

Consisting of two main islands - imaginatively named North Island and South Island and many smaller islands in the South Pacific Ocean, the archipelago lies roughly 1,000 miles south east of Australia.

New Zealand has a temperate climate. Winters are fairly cold in the south of the South Island but mild in the north of the North Island.

Known by some as "The Shaky Isles" because of frequent seismic activity, lying on the margin of the two colliding tectonic plates (the Pacific and Indo-Australian), earthquakes are common, particularly in the south west of the South Island and in the central North Island. As a result, the North Island's scenery is marked by several active and dormant volcanic cones.

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. The Windy City is built on the foreshore of Wellington Harbour and ringed by mountains, providing the scenic home of many of New Zealand's national arts and cultural attractions.