Ulva Island Return (Instant Book) Water Taxi & Unguided Walk

Enjoy our no fuss, instant book service to the Ulva Island open bird sanctuary.

Your online booking service for Ulva Island; check out our bookings calendar! See our detailed instructions below. Book your date online, then meet us at the Golden Bay wharf a little before your departure time for your convenient, scenic water taxi service and freedom walk to Ulva Island/ Te Wharawhara, the world’s southern-most open bird sanctuary.

If your desired date or time is not available on our calendar, please get in touch with our friendly staff, either by phone or send us an enquiry form here. We can usually assist with a custom date or time.

Board our boat and enjoy a short water taxi ride over to Ulva Island. You then disembark with enough time and the freedom to explore the island and its birdlife. Bookings are usually made with approximately 3 hours on Ulva Island before your skipper will pick you up at the Post Office Bay wharf and transport you back to Golden Bay.

If you can’t see your date or preferred time on our booking system (particularly during winter months), please contact us.

Please note that our online reservation services must be checked by our staff to ensure safe weather conditions, that minimum fares have been met etc., and we will get in touch with you promptly if any changes are necessary before we are able to make a confirmed booking for you.

Instructions for our online booking service:

Please be sure to:

1. Enter the relevant number of passengers (Adults/ Children 6-13 yrs / Infants 0-5 yrs)
2. Select “Golden Bay Wharf” as your FROM location, and “Ulva Island Wharf” as your TO location;
3. Select “round trip”;
4. Enter the date on which you’d like to travel in both the “Depart” and “Return” cells (please ensure these are the same date!);
5. Then select both the inbound and return times that you would like in the calendar prompts
6. Fill in ALL required contact and payment fields marked with an asterisk (*)

The trip summary on the payment page may only show your one way inbound journey, however please be assured that if you have followed these instructions correctly, your return service will be booked as it should. For example, if your total fare for 2 x adults shows as $60 (2 x $30), then you have booked a return journey. If you would like to speak with one of our helpful staff, please give us a call during normal office hours.

Highlights of the Ulva Island Return

• Enjoy a short, scenic water taxi trip from Golden Bay to Ulva Island, across Paterson Inlet and the Ulva Island Marine Reserve
• Listen to the commentary provided by your knowledgeable skipper
• Discover native bush, picturesque sandy beaches and rocky outcrops. There are 4.5 kilometres of easy walking tracks on Ulva Island
• Unique opportunities to spot the Stewart Island robin, kakariki, saddleback, and mohua (yellowhead).
• If you’re lucky, you might also spot a Stewart Island Brown Kiwi (Tokoeka)
• A self-guide booklet “Explore an Island Paradise” is available from our Booking Office (Main Rd, summer only) or from the Ulva Island shelter
• Additional departure times may be available, however you need to Contact us to make a booking.

If you are interested in a guided walk on Ulva Island, please contact Beaks & Feathers, or Ulva’s Guided Walks, for further information.

School Groups

We offer safe, efficient transport to and from Ulva Island (and other destinations) generally from the Golden Bay wharf. Please get in touch for a quote, as our School Group rates are different from our regular rates.