Met together in Oban (Stewart Island). You will be transferred by zodiac to Strannik. You will be introduced to the crew and the vessel. After lunch there will be a detailed briefings and instructions for the tramp. Also a chance to stow dry clothes, spare equipment etc etc that you don’t want on the tramp but would like on arrival in Port Pegasus. You will select and pack your food for the tramp from our on board supplies, also a chance to double check equipment. You will stay overnight on board.

This morning after breakfast we will cruise up Paterson Inlet and we will land you at Freds Camp where the tramp starts. You will travel up the Rakeahua Valley to the Rakeahua Hut where you will stay overnight, it is a relatively easy (but muddy) well defined track through some great podocarp forest. Est. 5 hours tramping. Note: The estimated distance from Rakeahau Hut to Port Pegasus is … we have allowed 3 days for this trip but it could be done in 2 days depending on the weather conditions and the interests and fitness of the group.

Today we will climb from Rakeahau Hut to Table hill a 700 metre climb that starts a couple kilometres west of the hut. The climb takes you through podocarp forest into some heavier Manuka / Olearia scrub. There is the vague remnants of a track/route with occasional marker especially in the lower valley but towards the tops it becomes a “scrub bash” to the bush line at 500 metres. DoC researchers sometimes use this route to study the southern population of the NZ Dotterel that breeds here. Depending on our progress and the weather we will look for a suitable campsite here or push on towards the Kopeka River.

From Campsite we will continue south towards Port Pegasus. There are the occasional snow pole markers to the top of Table Hill and after that there are semi-regular markers (short lengths of Olearia pushed into the peat bogs and the occasional rocks that have been made into cairns) marking the route. We plan to travel via the eastern slopes of Mt Allen (the highest peak on the Tin Range) and the Mt Allen tarn where there is a reasonable campsite for our second night.

We plan to complete the traverse of the Tin Range today. From Mt Allen we continue south towards trig D at the southern end of the Tin Range. Again route finding will be critical as it is not well marked. Depending on the weather and the time available we will explore the relics from the tin mining era. There is an impressive adit and a dam near the summit of trig D. This is also the area where Kakapo were rediscovered in January 1976. We will descend to Diprose Bay in Port Pegasus along the tramway which was built for a tin mining consortium in the early 1900’s. We will rendezvous with Strannik here. We enjoy hot showers and clean clothes.

We continue our exploration of the Port Pegasus region with a day trip to the impressive granite peaks of Gog and Magog (Fraser Peaks) It is a full day trip from Evening Cove, but depending on the tide times we may be able to shortened that by taking the zodiacs up Cooks Arm. We return to Strannik for the night and stay overnight on board.

This morning we plan to climb Bald Cone……. asl a dominant Granite knob at the south end of Port Pegasus. There is a recognised route up the south side and there are even some fixed ropes (probably not a good idea to rely on these) to the summit from where there are great views over Port Pegasus. Back on board for lunch and then this afternoon we plan to walk through to “The Settlement” in Broad Bay. It is an easy 40min walk (one way) some stunning podocarp forest with a golden sand beach at the end. There are often Sealions on this beach. Overnight on Strannik.

We plan to depart Port Pegasus early this morning for the Lords River where we will explore the river by Zodiac. The rivers winds for many miles through some magnificent podocarp forest. Navigation is stopped by a waterfall and nearby there is a hunters camp as this is a popular hunting block. There is also a shorter walk from near the anchorage to the coast and some spectacular scenery. We stay overnight on Strannik

We will anchor in Port Adventure and spend the day exploring the area both on foot and by zodiac. The Heron River that flows into the Port is navigable up as far as some rapids. There is also some great beaches and the possibility of some shorter walks

Disembark at Oban continue your Stewart Island adventure or return home.

Itineraries are subject to change.