Experience a superb guided walk with Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience on Ulva Island.
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Learn about the local flora and birdlife, listen to exquisite birdsong and experience close encounters with rare and endangered New Zealand birds. Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience is a small, boutique nature tourism business offering a variety of natural history and birding trips along with cruises. Our Ulva Island Birds & Forest Guided Walk, operating since 2000 is our iconic walk and must do
tour. Passionate guides providing a unique insight into our natural history, birdlife and conservation.
We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Trip Advisor - 2023 Travellers Choice.
We continue to give our best to ensure our customers have a fantastic, rewarding and memorable experience.
Thank you so much to all our customers who have provided their feedback and especially to the staff who have helped and worked hard during the last season.
Interesting sighting of Ho**er sea lions on our Ulva island Birds & Forest Guided Walk.
Ruggedy Range is hiring staff to help get the business back on track.
We are looking for professional, people-orientated, persons who have experience living and working in small, semi-remote places. Stewart Island has approx. 400 permanent residents and is mainly wilderness, so you must enjoy being in an outdoor environment. In particular you must be comfortable working for a small business and a small team.
We offer the opportunity to experience Island life and wildlife and the beautiful wilderness of Stewart Island.
Our roles will suit flexible, committed people willing to be supportive of the needs of the business as it tries to strengthen its base.
Ruggedy Range is a caring business with an environmental focus.
Keeping you and us safe! Borders are starting to re-open around the world and soon in New Zealand, we expect to be welcoming visitors from around the world on our tours and services.
We are committed to continue operating in a safe way so that you can relax and enjoy what we offer and the beautiful Island we live and work in.
We are doing our bit to keep our staff, customers and community safe.
If you are planning to run the Rakiura Challenge in October 2021 and want to discover Stewart Island and Ulva Island, check out some of the best tours on offer. We offer informative natural history and birdwatching tours for discerning travellers. Our iconic tours include: Ulva Island Birds & Forest Guided Walk, night-time Kiwi Spotting along with Wildlife Cruises to view albatrosses, penguins and seals. Our Island Culture Scenic Road Tour is a brilliant introduction to Stewart Island. If you need transport to the start of the Rakiura Great Walk - we operate licensed passenger vehicles. Contact us to discuss!
Some great feedback from a client who was recommended to Ruggedy Range and took part in our Ulva Island Birds & Forest Guided Walk and our Evening Eco Watch / Kiwi Spotting trip. We continue to work hard to ensure I clients receive a great nature focused experience,
The Ladies Slipper Orchid is one of many native orchids that flower in Stewart Island and Ulva Island. Most of our orchids species are best seen during October through to February, some flower through to April. Join one of our nature based guided walks to view native orchids.
The endearing Stewart Island robin, also known as Toutouwai by Maori, seen here on our Ulva Island Birds & Forest Guided Walk. Petroica is a genus of flycatchers (family Muscicapidae) of Australia and the Pacific Island.
We are doing our thing at Alert Level 2. Clients have been happy to follow the guidelines and our Health and Safety Plan to help keep everyone and our local and wider community safe.
Thank you to everyone for supporting Aihe Wildife Cruises & Water Taxi and Ruggedy Range™ Wilderness Experience.
We greatly appreciate the custom and visitor feedback is that they are grateful that we are making the effort to meet them whenever we can on arrival at Halfmoon Bay Wharf, Stewart Island to let them know we are operating and what we can offer.
"We remain an independent business so visitors always have the freedom of choice, which they deserve."
After careful consideration, Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience / Aihe Wildlife Cruises & Water Taxi and the Stewart Island Outdoor Adventure & Gift Shop will remain closed for tours and services during our winter months in New Zealand (June, July, August). We hope to operate again in September / October.
We continue to take bookings and enquiries for the coming season. Our emails, phone calls and messages are and will continue to be checked regularly.
Thank you for your patience whilst we develop and implement new policies and procedures to ensure higher levels of hygiene and cleanliness in order to keep everyone safe.
We also send to everyone around the world our continued support and hopes for a better and safer world in the near future.
Seaviews provide us with special moments to reflect. Stewart Island offers a constantly changing canvas from charcoal, water colour and oils that would please the most avid artist, in an almost pristine setting. This image - a favourite place visited many times - Traill Bay, overlooking Paterson Inlet, painted in pastel colours by nature for all to enjoy.
Hope each day becomes brighter for you - where ever you are in the world.
Virginian whitetail deer were released in Stewart Island in 1905. Lately this pair are regularly visiting my office lawn anytime during the daytime. An amusing expression on their faces as if to say "well why not".
We hope your day is going well - where ever you are in Stewart Island, New Zealand and the World.
Always remember the promise of a new day or the calm after a storm. This photo was taken in Halfmoon Bay, Oban, Stewart Island several years ago. We expect more beautiful sunrises over the coming weeks.
Just now, we will be sitting tight as we experience some of our autumnal windy weather. As one of our lovely skippers - Kevin used to say "batten down the hatches" and "it is what it is".
Looking ahead, we have alot to consider in terms of when and how we will operate. At Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience / Aihe Wildlife Cruises & Water Taxi and the Stewart Island Outdoor Adventure & Gift Shop, the most important baseline for us is the assurance of and being able to assure to you total safety and well being for all our customers, everybody we deal with and our staff. We will not compromise this. In the meantime, we will batten down our hatches and use the time to help you dream and escape to our special part of the world, through our photographs. Travel can wait for better times.
We also want to thank the incredible and dedicated doctors, nurses, mid-wives, care-givers, support staff, volunteers, those in essential services, and everyone that is helping in many ways and spreading kindness, hope and care in all corners of the world.
Although we live at the bottom of New Zealand, the rest of the world is not far from our minds - nor our good wishes, hope and enormous love. Stay safe, be kind, show compassion to each other and the vulnerable.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Ruggedy Range Wilderness Experience / Aihe Wildlife Cruises & Water Taxi and the Stewart Island Outdoor Adventure & Gift Shop will close for this season on 21st March 2020, in light of the current world health situation and to help people stay safe and well.
We understand that the situation may take a while to settle. We will re-open again, but this is unlikely during April / May / June 2020. We will check emails during our closure and take calls and enquiries. However, these are uncertain times and we ask for your understanding and patience during a complicated time for everyone worldwide.
We hope that the beauty and compassion of humanity towards each other will shine, so that we can care for each other and those who are vulnerable.
We hope to share some images of our tours and wildlife during our closure to help remind you that a beautiful world still exists.
Please also check our website Blog on www.ruggedyrange.com
Best wishes from all here.
Aihe provides us with water taxi services to and from Ulva Island and other destinations as well as seabird, penguin, wildlife and scenic cruises.
Endangered yellowhead (mohua) on Ulva Island, mainly in the canopy but can be seen searching for insects on the forest floor. A delightful contrast with the browns of the forest floor.
We are looking forward to sharing some great experiences with our clients this coming season. Thank you to everyone who has taken time to review us on Trip Advisor and Facebook.
Come and enjoy some of the fabulous creatures, plantlife and picturesque scenery on our Ulva Island Birding or Ulva Island Birds & Forest Guided Walks - also operating during the off-season. Check our website: www.ruggedyrange.com
I just loved this Stewart Island robin that appeared in front of me on our Ulva Island Birding tour this week. He was very curious about everything around him.
Kereru - New Zealand wood pigeon seen yesterday on Ulva Island on its nest of twigs, a lovely sight to see.
14 Main Road
Oban
9818
| Monday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Tuesday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Wednesday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Thursday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Friday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Saturday | 7:30am - 6pm |
| Sunday | 7:30am - 6pm |
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Two weka birds and their chick busy foraging on a sunny day on Ulva Island. Captured during our Ulva Island Birds and Forest Guided Walk.
Stewart Island Sea View Retreat
Back Road
