Step aboard M.Y. Beluga, our 35 metre explorer-style yacht

Day 1: Queenstown to Milford Sound
Fly by helicopter from Queenstown over the Southern Alps to Milford Sound and join Beluga at anchor beneath Mitre Peak. Settle in on board and enjoy your first evening in the sound after the day boats have left.

Day 2: Milford Sound to Bligh Sound
Wake to an early cruise beneath Mitre Peak, rising 1,692 metres from the water, and up to Stirling Falls before the sound fills. In the afternoon, cruise south to Bligh Sound and anchor in the sheltered cove of Bounty Haven.

Day 3: George Sound
Take the tender to Alice Falls, where Lake Alice drains through the forest into the head of the sound, kayak the sheltered upper reaches, or fish for blue cod for dinner.

Day 4: Caswell & Charles Sounds
Two of the least visited sounds in Fiordland. Take the tender up the Stillwater River towards Lake Marchant in Caswell Sound, and snorkel in the Kahukura Marine Reserve in Charles Sound.

Days 5–6: Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound is the deepest of the fiords, stretching around 40 kilometres inland and home to a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins. In Crooked Arm, we turn off the engines to enjoy the silence. After rain, hundreds of waterfalls appear on the fiord walls. On clear days, explore Hall Arm and Deep Cove, or cross Wilmot Pass to Lake Manapōuri.

Day 7: Breaksea Sound
Explore Vancouver Arm and the outer islands of Breaksea Sound. Dive or snorkel the kelp walls, visit the fur seal colonies by tender and end the day in the jacuzzi.

Days 8–9: Dusky Sound
Cruise through the sheltered Acheron Passage, past Wet Jacket Arm, into Dusky Sound, the largest of the fiords with more than 300 islands. Continue to Supper Cove at the head of the sound, passing Anchor Island, a protected sanctuary for kākāpō and little spotted kiwi. Walk to Astronomers Point, where Captain Cook’s crew set up an observatory in 1773 to fix New Zealand’s position on the chart, and, conditions permitting, take a helicopter to an alpine tarn or ridgeline for lunch with views across Fiordland.

Day 10: Chalky Inlet
A layer of fresh rainwater on the surface of the fiords filters the light, so black coral and sea pens grow at depths divers can easily reach. Dive or snorkel in the morning, then explore North Port and South Port by tender.

Day 11: Preservation Inlet
Walk to the Puysegur Point lighthouse for views across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island, and visit the remains of the 1890s gold-rush town of Cromarty and the site of New Zealand’s first shore whaling station at Cuttle Cove.

Day 12: Across Foveaux Strait to Port Pegasus
Weather permitting, cross Foveaux Strait to Port Pegasus at the remote southern end of Stewart Island, watching for albatross and petrels on the way. Arrive in time for an evening at anchor among granite domes and bush-clad shores.

Day 13: Port Pegasus
Port Pegasus has no roads and few visitors. Explore by tender and on foot, from the remains of an 1880s tin rush to the granite domes above the harbour. The rugged southern coast is nesting ground for tawaki (Fiordland crested penguin) and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), which may be seen coming ashore.

Day 14: Paterson Inlet & Ulva Island
Cruise north to Paterson Inlet for a guided walk on Ulva Island, a predator-free sanctuary of rainforest and rare native birds. At dusk, watch for kororā (little blue penguins) returning to their burrows, and after dark, join a local guide to look for Stewart Island kiwi.

Day 15: Oban to home
After a final breakfast on board, transfer ashore at Halfmoon Bay in Oban. Fly from Stewart Island’s Ryan’s Creek Aerodrome to Invercargill, or by private charter to Queenstown.