Rakiura (Stewart Island) . Photo / 123RF
Damian Christie flies from Invercargill to Rakiura, aboard Stewart Island Flights.
The plane: A Britten Norman Islander — a little 10-seater plane that feels like an adventure.
Class: One size fits all!
Price: $220 return.
Flight time: It's a quick 20-minute hop across Foveaux Strait, but there's a real sense of excitement as the wild bush-covered silhouette of Stewart Island/Rakiura starts to get bigger and bigger in the front window — it's huge!
My seat: I was lucky enough to get the co-pilots' seat at the front — although it's a little nerve-racking ensuring your hands and feet are far away from the controls.
Fellow passengers:
A bit hard to tell who my fellow passengers were without craning my neck, but I picked up there were a couple of Stewart Island locals among the other tourists.
How full:
The plane was chocka.
Entertainment: Aside from a bit of banter between the pilot and the locals, all the entertainment was provided by the view.
The service: We got there.
Food and drink: I always keep a few Koru lounge mints stashed in my pockets for trips like this.
The toilets: None.
Luggage: The stated allowance is 15kg, but we arrived with a 23kg bag full of camera gear and no-one said anything.
The airport experience: We had a couple of hours to fill between our flight landing at Invercargill and our flight to Stewart Island. Invercargill Airport is not somewhere you'd willingly want to fill a couple of hours.
The bottom line: It's quicker than the ferry, and for just over $100 each way, it's a great vantage point to see exactly how big Stewart Island/Rakiura really is.
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.