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Home  >> Birding Operators >> Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience

Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience

Photo © Furhana

“A magical place and superb guiding. A fitting climax to a marvellous six weeks in New Zealand. And a kiwi too. Thank you, Furhana, for a morning I’m unlikely ever to forget.” R Gilbert – UK. 

Come and experience Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience’s guided trips - we are passionate about our wildlife and environment.  Receive personal attention in small groups from friendly, knowledgeable guides and enjoy tours that are generous in length with descriptive commentary on the behaviour and habits of birds.

Owned and operated by Furhana (BSc Hons Geography) - our focus is natural history and bird watching in Stewart Island, Ulva Island and Rakiura National Park.  Furhana has been guiding here for 14 years and is passionate and knowledgeable about the local fauna and flora.  

ULVA ISLAND - Our two tours: Ulva Island Birds & Forest (birding and flora) or Ulva Island Birding (birding), on predator-free Ulva Island is set in luxuriant, primeval, rainforest.  Look for penguins and other seabirds on the way to Ulva Island. Take time to listen to birdsong and enjoy close encounters with endemic/native species including: saddleback, yellowhead, robin, rifleman, red and yellow-crowned parakeets, kaka (parrot), wood pigeon, brown creeper, weka and more.   Our trips are 4.5 or 8.5 hours (slightly shorter in winter). We aim to take you further and show you more!

KIWI JOURNEY – Follow in the footsteps of kiwi to Mason Bay with its stunning seascape and sand dunes on our two day, one night trip.  Search for this incredible bird, learn about its unique features, listen to its distinctive call whilst marvelling at southern stars.  Some of our daytime sightings will leave you in awe!  We have seen kiwi from a couple of minutes to an hour, from a few inches to several feet away.  Our success rate is is 95%.  Robin, fernbird, NZ pipit, bellbird, tui, red-crowned parakeet, brown creeper, tomtit and other species can also be seen.  Depending on the tour / time of year, the Southern New Zealand dotterel may be viewed.

AIHE PELAGIC BIRDING - Aihe is a small vessel, offering excellent viewing and comfortable seating.  Our small group pelagic tours for upto 8 persons, around the north east shore of Stewart Island offers a great opportunity for close views of albatross, petrel, prion, terns, penguin, cormorants and other species. Tours are weather dependent and subject to minimum 4 persons.

PERSONALISED PACKAGES (including travel  and accommodation) are available.

CONSERVATION FUND- we donate $1.00 per participant per tour into our conservation fund.

HOW TO BOOK - We are a small business - prior bookings are recommended. Please book direct for accurate and upto date tour information. We choose not to operate through the i-sites network or visitor / information centres in Stewart Island or rest of New Zealand.  Thank you for your understanding.

Affiliations
Department of Conservation Concessionnaire
Marine Mammal Viewing Permit
Qualmark Endorsed Visitor Activity
Qualmark Endorsed Visitor Transport
Marine Transport Association
Sustainable Tourism South


Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience Contact Details

Contact Details 

Location
Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience
14 Main Road
Oban
Stewart Island, New Zealand

Postal Address 
P O Box 188
Stewart Island 9846
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: (+64) 3 219 1066
fax: (+64) 3 219 1078
mobile: 0274 784 433

email: mail@ruggedyrange.com
website: http://www.ruggedyrange.com


Birds always seen

about:South Island Saddleback South Island Saddleback

about:South Island Kaka South Island Kaka

Bell Bird
about:Bellbird Bellbird

Tui
about:Tui Tui

about:Brown Creeper Brown Creeper

about:New Zealand Pigeon New Zealand Pigeon

about:South Island Tomtit South Island Tomtit

about:Spotted Shag Spotted Shag

about:Pied Shag Pied Shag

about:Little Penguin (Blue) Little Penguin (Blue)

about:Red-crowned Parakeet Red-crowned Parakeet

Variable Oystercatchers
about:Variable Oystercatcher Variable Oystercatcher

Red billed gull portrait
about:Red-billed Gull Red-billed Gull

Black backed Gull
about:Southern Black-backed Gull Southern Black-backed Gull

about:New Zealand Pipit New Zealand Pipit

about:Stewart Island Robin Stewart Island Robin

about:Stewart Island Fernbird Stewart Island Fernbird

about:Stewart Island Shag, Bronze Shag Stewart Island Shag, Bronze Shag

about:

about:Mallard Mallard

Banded Dotterel  (female)
about:Banded Dotterel Banded Dotterel

Birds very likely seen

about:South Island Rifleman South Island Rifleman

about:Yellowhead Yellowhead

about:Yellow-crowned Parakeet Yellow-crowned Parakeet

about:Stewart Island Weka Stewart Island Weka

about:Grey Warbler Grey Warbler

about:South Island Fantail South Island Fantail

about:Morepork (Ruru) Morepork (Ruru)

White faced Heron
about:White-faced Heron White-faced Heron

about:New Zealand Kingfisher New Zealand Kingfisher

about:Stewart Island Brown Kiwi Stewart Island Brown Kiwi

about:Subantarctic (Brown) Skua Subantarctic (Brown) Skua

about:Northern Giant Petrel Northern Giant Petrel

White capped (Shy) Albatross
about:White-capped Albatross White-capped Albatross

about:Southern Buller's Albatross Southern Buller's Albatross

about:Cape Pigeon (petrel) Cape Pigeon (petrel)

Black Shag
about:Black Shag Black Shag

about:Fiordland Crested Penguin Fiordland Crested Penguin

about:Yellow Eyed Penguin Yellow Eyed Penguin

Yellow-eyed Penguins are one of the rarest of the world's 18 species of penguin. There are only 5,000 - 6,000 Yellow-eyed Penguins in the wild and they only live in New Zealand.

Pied Oystercatcher
about:South Island Pied Oystercatcher South Island Pied Oystercatcher

about:Common Diving Petrel Common Diving Petrel

Little Shag
about:Little Shag Little Shag

about:Sooty Shearwater , Sooty Shearwater ,

about:Silvereye Silvereye

Harrier hawk
about:Australasian Harrier Australasian Harrier

Spur winged Plover
about:Spur-winged Plover Spur-winged Plover

about:Antarctic Tern Antarctic Tern

about:Fairy Prion Fairy Prion

NZ Paradise Shelduck
about:Paradise Shelduck Paradise Shelduck

Birds seasonally seen

about:Shining Cuckoo Shining Cuckoo

about:Long-tailed Cuckoo Long-tailed Cuckoo

about:Sooty Shearwater , Sooty Shearwater ,

about:Black-browed Albatross Black-browed Albatross

about:Fiordland Crested Penguin Fiordland Crested Penguin

about:Mottled Petrel Mottled Petrel

about:White-faced Storm Petrel White-faced Storm Petrel

about:Erect-crested Penguin Erect-crested Penguin

about:New Zealand Dotterel New Zealand Dotterel

about:Caspian Tern Caspian Tern


VISIT WEBSITE

Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience
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