Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience & Tours - Stewart Island — Local services in Stewart Island / Rakiura Community

Furhana is brilliant! Absolutely recommend booking your Stewart Island tours with Ruggedy Range. My husband and I did 3 tours with them recently (kiwi spotting, Ulva Island birding and Pelagic birding) and we spent all that time with Furhana. We were thoroughly impressed with her skill as a tour guide/ornithologist/botanist/water-taxi skipper/tour van driver - it was a one-woman show; she did everything for us and gave us some unforgettable experiences of Stewart and Ulva Islands.

What we loved most was how deeply Furhana cares about protecting the unique, wonderful, endangered wildlife here. During our kiwi-spotting tour, she taught our group how to move as quietly as possible and took all the necessary precautions to ensure first and foremost, that we respect the kiwi and try not to disturb it (to the extent we can). We spotted 2 kiwis and were able to view one of them for a long time with Furhana's guidance. She made sure that everyone in the group got a chance to view the birds. She has been a guide for over 25 years and has an intimate knowledge of local birds, birdsongs, trees and regional history. During our Ulva island walk, she found the best angles for the photographers in our group to take their bird photos, but also made sure the rest of us could watch the birds. We learned so much about the native flora and fauna of these incredible islands because we had the best tour guide, thank...

We chose the Ruggedy Range four hour tour of Ulva Island. It cost a little more than some of the shorter tours, but well worth it. Furhana led our party through the majesty of the pristine rainforest, ears and eyes attuned to the environment.

She knew every birdcall, every tiny plant, every massive tree, and her knowledge and passion flowed out and into us all.

My few photographs are a poor show. There were many more birds, some of them literally a metre away, including a saddleback, and a robin Furhana charmed down from the trees.

She paid careful attention to each member of the group, making certain everyone had a good view of everything. She made sure we trod quietly in the wilderness, respected the birds and plants, were one with the forest.

And after, as we bounced across the bay in the water taxi, she encouraged us to sing, tell stories, entertain the boat driver, who rewarded us by pointing out a trio of blue penguins.

I left a half block of hazelnut chocolate for her. We discovered Furhana...

We booked three outings with Furhana of Ruggedy Range during a September stay on Stewart Island/Rakiura - a boat trip to look for seabirds, a walk round Ulva Island to look for endemic birds and an evening kiwi safari. Despite contending with some pretty bad weather, all of these were really successful and we saw everything we could have hoped for: penguins, close-up albatrosses, spoonbills, weka, kaka, yellowheads, saddlebacks and a kiwi that walked past us just a few yards away. As well as being completely committed to the wellbeing of the birds and other wildlife, Furhana is a skilled and expert guide who spares no effort to make each outing a success - even if it means teaching the clients how to walk quietly in the dark! If you want the best chance to see the exciting birds that the island can offer, we can 100% recommend...