Mason Bay

Mason Bay is on the exposed western side of Stewart Island, fourteen kilometres of sand backed by one of the largest active dune systems in the country, and it is the place people go to see kiwi. Rakiura tokoeka, the Stewart Island brown kiwi, are unusual in being active during daylight as well as at night - they feed on the sandy flats and in the scrub behind the beach, and quiet walkers around the hut and the Duck Creek area see them with a decent probability rather than as a fluke. Getting there is the commitment: a light aircraft landing on the beach itself, or a water taxi up Freshwater River and a three to four hour walk across a boardwalked bog, or several days on foot. The hut must be booked. Weather is Southern Ocean weather, the sandflies are severe, and there is no shop, no power and no coverage.

What you actually see

• Wild kiwi in daylight - the best odds anywhere in the country.
• The dune system - among the largest and most active in New Zealand.
• The fourteen-kilometre beach - facing the open Southern Ocean.
• The access - beach landings by light aircraft, or a long walk in.

When to go

October to April. Book the hut and transport well ahead. Flights and water taxis are weather-dependent and cancellations are common - build slack into any plan.

Honest expectations

Kiwi are likely but never guaranteed; keep quiet, use a red light at night and do not follow birds. Sandflies are severe. No power, no shop, no phone coverage. Getting stuck an extra day by weather is normal here.

Nearby

Freshwater Landing is the water taxi point; Oban and Ulva Island are on the eastern side.