Ulva Island/Te Wharawhara Open Sanctuary

A Stewart Island stay is not complete without a visit to Ulva Island, a place of high natural values and steeped in spiritual and cultural heritage. It is beyond compare.

Located in Waka o te Wera (Paterson Inlet) of Stewart Island, with 11km of coastline, Ulva Island is a scenic gem of unsurpassed beauty. Forming part of the Rakiura National Park, Ulva Island is managed by the Department of Conservation as an 'open sanctuary' with full public access - just a short water taxi ride across Paterson Inlet from Golden Bay.

Considered predator free (since 1997), visiting here is like stepping back in time to when New Zealand's flora and bird fauna were still largely intact. The ancient rimu tree is able to be seen at all stages of growth: seedlings, saplings and young juveniles, through to the majestic giants that tower to the forest roof. Totara, kamahi, southern rata and miro combine to create a forest view that is hard to experience anywhere else. Under the luxuriant green mantle of podocarp forest, the forest floor is rich with exquisite seasonal orchids, mosses, ferns, liverworts and the beautiful filmy ferns.

Ulva Island is a sanctuary to threatened wildlife; 30 saddleback (tieke) were released in May 2000 with 18 delightful Stewart Island Robins (toutouwai) released in October of the same year. You will also hear the songs of bellbird and tui, their bursts of melody interspersed with raucous call of the kaka and the chattering native parakeet (kakariki). If you are lucky, you might get your shoelaces pecked by the cheeky local weka!

Ulva Island also has a rich human history - Ngai Tahu would visit periodically to strip bark from the totara trees for their mutton bird/titi storage baskets. In 1872, the first post office in the Stewart Island area was established on Ulva Island - at Post Office Bay. When the mail boat arrived the Postmaster would go to Flagstaff Hill and raise the flag. Ulva Island then became a social meeting place for locals; everyone would gather in their finest clothes to pick up their mail and meet with neighbours to share news and gossip. The Postmaster, Charles Traill, established an extensive garden when living on the island with his brother. Some large survivors of this garden, including radiata pine, can be seen growing alongside the native forest on the northern edge of the Island. 

In 1922, Ulva Island became the first scenic reserve in New Zealand and has been a significant part of the Department of Conservation's island conservation management programme over the years. Ulva Island provides a rare and wonderful opportunity for people to easily access an impressive representation of New Zealand's flora and fauna at their very best.