matiu / somes island

Great to know the history of Somes Island, Spectacular on a sunny day to take photos of Wellington and the South Island, the old gun areas etc. Or to sit back and watch the sail boats go by, Well worth a visit :)

Such a fabulous day for the visit to Matiu-Somes Island. Chilly start from the ferry Days Bay at 5° (Celsius) brrrr...but certainly well worth the trip. So peaceful, and most tranquil - I can understand why Maggie loved it so much. heart emoticonThe sounds of the birds were enchanting. Sadly, it was too cold for the tuatara, geckos & skinks. frown emoticonWill be back in the summer

If you have the time, make a reservation and simply bring a tent, a bottle of wine and a picnic. After the last ferry has left, you have an island to yourself! The birdlife is fantastic for an island in the middle of the Capital-harbor!

First I thought it might be waste of time to visit this island. After reading some reviews I did convince myself to give it a try... and yes it was nice half day trip. Trip by ferry is short and you can walk the island around in about 2 hours. Ideal to take first ferry from Wellington at 10am and return at 12:50 from the island. It's more about nature walk, take photos and visit not anymore functional quanranteen station.

This is just a 20 min ferry journey from bustling Wellington harbour and is a oasis of peace and tranquility. The island is a carefully protected nature reserve where every precaution is taken to ensure that wildlife is not exposed to any form of predators and the views from various vantage points are quite stunning.We happened to go on a very windy day such that the return ferry journey was not for the faint hearted! If you are not a good sailor, then chose your day carefully!

We stopped off at Somes island on our way from main town Wellington to Eastbourne (I think it was called!) bay on the other side of the city. This worked well as a whole day out for the entire family.The children enjoyed seeing the sheep at the top if the island as they may be the only sheep in the world that are not scared of people! We found the history fascinating and read up a lot as we walked around regarding how the old quarantine regulations used to be enforced and also how long the old light-house functioned. A highlight for us was having parakeets fly low right in front of us - twice! They really are beautiful :) There is an array of other wild-life to see. However, be aware of dive-bombing seagulls during nesting season at the top of the island. They didn't seem to hit you but they came very close a few times - certainly enough to give you a scare!Overall this was a lovely half-day trip that we as a family (3generations) all enjoyed. It does not take long at all to walk round, though allow at least 2 hours for stops to read up on things. However, the actual walking would take less than an hour if you went non-stop.Tip: Take your own water and nibbles. You can re-fill a water bottle here and there are toilets, however there is no food available to buy on the island.- If you have a whole day, definitely get back on the ferry and visit the bay on the other side of Wellington, this broke the day up well for the kids. We got ice-creams and had a late lunch at one of he charming little cafés there. Boats come regularly to take people back to the mainland.

This was a great adventure! I took my kids, ages 7 and 9 to Somes Island, leaving Days Bay at 10:30am and returning on the 2:30pm ferry, this was the perfect amount of time. There are well marked tracks, easy hiking, with enough variety and interest to keep everyone happy. We hiked around the island, had a picnic lunch near the lighthouse and dropped in at the visitor's centre before heading back to the pier to wait for the ferry. The kids loved finding skinks, looking for weta, but we didn't manage to see the tuatara. The only cost involved is the ferry ride, $47 for one adult and two kids. They have a family rate as well.

About 3 hours trekking should suffice for a visit to Somes Island. Bring a lunch and water as they have nothing on the island. And choose a calm day--the winds really buffeted the ferry and made walking less than pleasant. We saw 6 NZ parakeets, a good-sized skink and the unusual giant weta, a sort-of mega cricket. Wandering the animal quarantine and degaussing stations proved interesting. But we thought $46 for the 20-minute ferry ride was excessive.

Catch the East by West ferry to Somes Island - a 10 minute ride, or 30 minutes if your ferry calls in at Seatoun and/or Days Bay wharfs en-route (and if they do you get a great view of Wellington's coastline from the sea!). After the conservation safety talk when you first embark you are free to wander the island paths (please stick to the paths so you don't step on any wee creatures), look at the history (cemetery of the internees, quarantine [influenza, small pox etc.] the war gun placement ruins and the housing sheds); boards explaining the island's history are dotted around. Take a picnic lunch (and remember to take ALL your rubbish away with you as this is a conservation sanctuary), climb to the trig, walk to the lighthouse, the observation platform and enjoy the peaceful grounds. The views of the city all around the island are amazing. A great 1/2 or full day trip!!

This was the biggest highlight of our week-long trip to Wellington. What an amazing place! A short ferry ride from the central dock location and you are on a beautiful island with a fabulous history and stunning views of the entire bay. The island has been reclaimed and the rangers work hard to ensure it stays in pristine condition. The walks around the island offer wonderful views at every turn - it's hard to believe this exists so close to a bustling city centre. There is no food available on the island, so take your own if you plan to stay awhile. There are toilets and places to fill your water bottle, as well as accommodation for those who want to stay overnight (camping and housing)

Went today and was great weather, fantastic views and awesome. We had plenty of time to do the walk and kids loved it. Take plenty of drink and food with you as its a lot wait if your on the last ferry.We saw two Tuataras heaps of skinks and parrots. Was brilliant.

The skies were blue without a cloud so we took the chance to take a trip on the harbour. We chose to take the East-West water taxi to Matiu/Somes Island for about $20 I think. You buy tickets on the water front near the sails. The taxi ferries run about every hour or so. when you arrive on the island you go through a fairly thorough search and check to make sure you are not inadvertently brining in any vermin, insects, seeds etc. you can take food and drink as there is none for sale on the island.It is a lovely walk up a road to the top of the hill where you can see sea birds roosting and squarking. The park ranger who introduced us to the island was actually a volunteer student from York University in UK but proved to be remarkably knowledgable and told us to look out for tuataras and told us where they might be.Well the highlight of the trip was actually seeing a young tuatara in the wild. Only 7 years old but totally unafraid of the tourists who must have been part of his life from the beginning when two leathery eggs were found on the island and hatched.

Our day of travel was a little overcast and cool so best to chose a day that is a little warmer especially as areas here are quite exposed (as you would expect). If you can get cheap ferry tickets this is definitely worth the visit. You do need to judge your times of getting there to make sure you have time to look around without having to rush to catch the last boat back to the mainland. The fact you can wander about quite freely is good and the information given by the ranger as you get off the boat also very important and concisely given. Of course the sea views are awesome and the walking is relatively easy although good shoes help. Also have a warm jersey just in case it turns chilly!! Also bringing food and drink is really a must as nothing on the island but plenty of places for a picnic along the way.Felt that the staff could be a little more friendly though, as we encountered one of them during our walk and they were a tad non-communicative and almost a bit officious.

Did you know you can stay overnight on Matiu Somes Island? As well as a camp site there are a couple of houses that can be rented by the night. They have three bedrooms (Education House sleeps 10 and Forest & Bird House sleeps 8) solar powered hot water for shower and bath and fully equipped kitchen (no microwave). The island is quite magical both before and after the the day trippers arrive/leave. The added bonus is sitting quietly near the wharf watching the little blue penguins come home at dusk.Whether staying over or doing the day trip I can highly recommend the ranger-let guided tour.I've just come back from a weekend (Friday to Sunday) there. We saw tuatara, skinks, kakariki, weta, oyster catchers and little blue penguins. We also enjoyed the trip around the quarantine buildings.

Went with friends and was gorgeous- some FANTASTIC views and awesome . We did the walk in about half the time indicated and even though we only had an hour and a half between boats, we loved it. For a more leisurely time, I'd recommend 2-3 hours with food :) Make sure to see the WWII gun emplacements and look out for little animals darting everywhere. We carried a 2 month old baby around and access was easy.