Walk to Golden Bay, not to the ferry terminal. Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara is reached by water taxi from a small wharf on Paterson Inlet, run to a booking rather than a printed timetable, and Rakiura Charters' published return starts at NZD $35 for an adult. Book first, then check your gear for stowaways.
No timetable published by any operator; Rakiura Charters runs daily in its main summer season (dates not given) and on demand outside it — checked 29 September 2026 Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi – Ulva Island Return · 2026-09-29
Start at Golden Bay, on the Paterson Inlet side of Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara water taxis tie up there, a 15–20 minute walk from Oban by Rakiura Charters' estimate. Nothing sails to Ulva from Bluff: cross Foveaux Strait to Oban first, then take a small boat to Post Office Bay, Ulva's only landing.
Treat it as a water taxi you reserve. Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi sells an instant-book return from Golden Bay, and Rakiura Adventure goes whenever asked. Neither prints departure times outside its booking system, so book a slot and check which wharf you leave from.
Pay for transport only: most of the island is Rakiura National Park and landing is free; Rakiura Charters' Golden Bay return starts at NZD $35 for an adult. What DOC asks costs nothing: a careful search of your gear before the boat leaves.
Budget for the boat and nothing else: landing on Ulva is free today. Rakiura Charters quotes its Golden Bay return from NZD $35 for an adult and $25 for a child aged 6 to 13, with a minimum of two adults — a lone adult may be asked at check-in to cover a second seat. The site does not say whether GST is included, and its terms allow a fuel surcharge on five days' email notice.
Rakiura Adventure lists its own fares, but we could not confirm them in a second official source, so they stay out of the table, as do Aihe Eco Charters & Water Taxi's, on a website last copyrighted in 2018. Phone either for a quote.
| Adult, return (from) | $ 35 |
| Child 6–13, return (from) | $ 25 |
Rakiura Charters return fares as published on 29 September 2026 (page last updated 24 August 2026) Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi – Ulva Island Return · 2026-09-29
The crossing stays in sheltered water. Golden Bay opens onto Paterson Inlet/Whaka a Te Wera and Ulva lies inside it, so the run to Post Office Bay takes five minutes by Rakiura Adventure's clock, about ten by Rakiura Charters', seven by the Charitable Trust's. Rakiura Charters' boats pass through the Ulva Island Marine Reserve.
Ashore you have 266.6 hectares and about 11 km of coast. DOC's times are return from the wharf: 20 minutes to Flagstaff Point or Sydney Cove, an hour and a half to Boulder Beach, two hours to West End Beach, about three for every marked track. Sydney Cove has tables, a shelter, a toilet and water.
This is where you board, on the opposite side of the neck of land from the village. Rakiura Charters reckons on a 15–20 minute walk from Oban and wants you there at least 10 minutes before your slot; for a ride, it names Aurora Cabs on 0277 227 935. The council repaired this wharf in December 2025.
Rakiura Adventure also runs a few Ulva trips from Halfmoon Bay Wharf in Oban itself. The ride is longer — 20 minutes each way by the operator, about 30 by the Ulva Island Charitable Trust — and dearer, so ask the fare when you book.
Ulva has one landing and every boat uses it. DOC calls it Post Office Bay; the council, which owns the structure, says Post Office Cove. It is on the north shore and the tracks start here.
The houses by the landing stand on 7.6 hectares of private land, so keep to the tracks. The self-guide booklet is sold at the wharf through an honesty box.
Both operators say book ahead; Rakiura Charters treats an online booking as a request until staff confirm it.
Rakiura Charters' Ulva minimum is two adults, so ring 0800 725 487 first rather than paying for an empty seat.
DOC asks you to look through packs, bags and any boat or kayak for rats, and to pick seeds out of footwear, pockets and Velcro. Do it before boarding.
Ulva has no shop and no bins: bring food and water from Oban and carry every wrapper back.
Rakiura Charters usually books about three hours ashore and suggests two to four and a half; pick your return slot with the Trust's 18:00 limit in mind.
Seals and sea lions rest on Ulva's beaches and sometimes on the tracks. DOC says keep at least 20 metres away. Dogs are banned.
DOC's Ulva brochure notes rats reaching the island from moored boats during the 1998/99 summer and once more in 2006, plus a Norway rat population found in 2010 that needed a second eradication; a rodent-dog survey in 2012 found the island clear. DOC reckons on one rat arriving in an average year, usually helped by a visitor who never noticed. The water taxis carry bait stations; your bag is the bit they cannot check.
Southland District Council restricted the Post Office Cove wharf from 1 October 2023 — ten minutes alongside, 3 knots on approach, no vessel over eight tonnes, no berthing in winds above 10 knots — repaired it in December 2025, and planned a rebuild on the same site by October 2026, subject to approvals. In August 2026 Rakiura Charters called the upgrade date unset. We found no closure notice on 29 September 2026; ask your operator how landings are working.
Rakiura Charters' Golden Bay return is from NZD $35 per adult and $25 per child aged 6 to 13, with a two-adult minimum; other operators quote on request. Landing on the island is free at present.
Book. Rakiura Charters confirms online bookings only after checking weather and numbers; if the calendar shows nothing for your date, phone and ask for a custom time.
No operator publishes one; you choose your return slot when booking. The Ulva Island Charitable Trust asks visitors to leave by 18:00, and DOC does not permit night visits.
Search bags, packs and any boat or kayak for rats, and clear seeds from footwear, pockets and Velcro. Report any sign of rats to DOC at once. No dogs, no camping, and no drones without a permit.
The council repaired it in December 2025 and planned a rebuild by October 2026. We found no closure notice on 29 September 2026; ask your operator which landing it is using.
No. This page covers Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara off Stewart Island/Rakiura in New Zealand; the Isle of Ulva next to Mull in Scotland is a different island with a different ferry.