Agent Page - Sails Ashore & Kowhai Lane Lodges, Stewart Island

Please Note….. Both our Guided Ulva Island and Sails Scenic Road tours
are now packaged with both accommodation options
and are included in the 3 night tariffs below

Please Note….. Sails Ashore is now accommodation only.
We do not include breakfast,
but will deliver and return guests to a restaurant of choice

Your Hosts, Peter and Iris Tait with daughter Anne Tait wish to share their forty plus years’ experience with visitors to this magic Island Stewart Island/Rakiura –

“Land of the Glowing Skies”

page updated 21 August 2026

Terms & Conditions: – We expect payment in advance by Internet, Electronic banking or Credit Card. Please note bank charges are the responsibility of the agent concerned

Guest Arrivals & Departures

We meet guests on arrival by either plane or ferry
and then take them on a short orientation tour of the village.
Guests are then settled into their room and over a quiet cup of coffee we discuss their program while on Stewart Island
and suggest things they might wish to do.

Please do NOT book any activities starting within 1 hour of arrival as we allocate this period to welcoming and settling your clients in.
Unless we know well beforehand if you do book an activity starting on arrival we may be unavailable to your clients for some time after the activity actually ends
If the activity booking is unavoidable we will not meet them until after the activity finishes

But we are not mind readers.
When agents make a booking with us we remind them that they must advise us of their clients arrival and departure detail.
Failure to do this means we have to waste the time of airline and ferry staff trying to track down YOUR clients.
And we make sure the staff know just who the agent concerned is.

So to maintain your good name please ensure we have your clients details

Guest Meals

There are limited tables available in the Village
and as we have had considerable issues in the past with guests changing their minds
and/or making a last minute cancellation we will no longer make reservations for guests

Which is why in the booking acceptance email we send agents the following is included:-

We suggest you forward to them a link to our Concierge Page www.sailsashore.co.nz/concierge-services
and ask them to look at the “Eating Out” tab, and if required they email and book the restaurant of choice.
otherwise it’s not unknown for folks to miss out.

Dietary Issues.

Your clients must be made aware that we are an Island destination with limited food choices.
and it may not be possible for specialist dietary requirements to be met in the local shop.
While we will source what we can it is your clients responsibility to ensure their own needs are met.

If Travelling By Ferry.

Real Journeys have altered their timetables as below. The change in departure time from 0800 to 0730, with check in 30 minutes prior will make it unlikely we can offer guests at either Sails Ashore or Kowhai Lane Lodges transport to the ferry on departure for that early morning departure. So guests will have to make their own early morning departure arrangements. There is a local taxi service Other departures will not be effected.

Departure Time 1st October – 30 April
Departure Time 1st May – 30 September

Passenger Check-in: 30 minutes prior to departure
All passenger luggage must be checked in 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure time.
This check-in cut-off is to ensure scheduled departures are met. Passengers arriving after the luggage check-in deadline may have luggage shifted to the next scheduled sailing.

Terms & Conditions :- To confirm a booking we expect payment in advance by Internet, Electronic banking or Credit Card, within 10 days of emailing our invoice. Please note bank charges are the responsibility of the agent concerned and we reserve the right to add credit card charges of 3% if applicable.

Sails Ashore is 3 night minimum stay.

Kowhai Lane is 3 night minimum stay, although if a multiple room booking please ask

Both accommodations are packaged with an Ulva Island Guided walk, with no exceptions.

Consequences of Late Payment:- If payment is not received within this period forfeiture of the commission will result and the FULL RETAIL RATE for the room will apply. Additionally if an account is overdue no further accommodation bookings will be accepted. Default of more than 1 month beyond date on invoice as above may see bookings cancelled, the agent notified by email and the rooms re-allocated. Persistent late payment can lead to suspension of the agency relationship.
Electronic payments MUST be identified with the Agent Name PLUS our invoice number and an email sent to us confirming payment. This helps us ensure YOUR payment does not go astray

A booking you make with us implies that you have read and accepted our terms as set out above

We are a small B&B and late payments greatly affect us. We politely request your co-operation in meeting our payment terms.

Normally our guided walk is two person minimum. However a single guest at Sails Ashore or Kowhai Lane is guaranteed the tour at no extra cost. In each property reduce the two night rack tariff by the tour cost.

While not difficult, the Guided Walk does require a basic level of fitness and agility. We travel across to Ulva by water taxi and the walk of 2 kilometres takes us around 4 hours on metaled trails. However there are many steps, and the water taxi requires stepping across and down into the vessel. Unless your clients are prepared to pay for an exclusive tour in which case the tour can be customised to suit their ability (enquire at booking) there may well be others in the group in which case a standard tour will apply. There will be no discount if guests are unable to fully participate or if the guide deems then unable to attempt the tour.

If you require additional or up to date copies of our DVD please email us. Please feel free to copy it at will.

Remember we are ALWAYS happy to assist with any inquiries regarding services available on Stewart Island.

Please contact us if you require tariffs for beyond the periods indicated below.
Tariffs include transfers to accommodation plus orientation “mini tour” on arrival/departure and transfers to and from “Sails” activities

We can offer :-　 A choice of Accommodation both Luxury Boutique and Superior Holiday Home (self catering) and Scenic Road Tours & Guided Ulva Island Walks
Commission levels are by prior written arrangement only.

Important !!!.

We have not increased tariffs for 3 years, and were planning on a small increase to keep up with normal cost increases. However the recent global chaos and resulting enormous increases in oil and flow on inflation have made us reluctant to trust our crystal ball in projecting tariffs into 2027/2028. So in the interim we are increasing by 10% across all products. But, if the future settles down, and we can justify dropping our tariffs, any bookings already paid will be refunded the difference.

Please be aware that the tariffs below are calculated on the assumption of 2 guests per room. If a single, then reduce the tour component of the booking by a single tour tariff.

Guests with limited command of spoken English are advised to consider an Exclusive Ulva Island Tour to ensure their best experience

Season 1st May 2026- 30th April 2027.

Product	Rack Tariff	Exclusive
Sails Ashore Luxury Accommodation only (double/twin) 3 night package (inc Guided Walk and Road Tour)	$2650	$5000
Sails Ashore Luxury Accommodation only (double/twin) each additional night add	$670	$1250
Kowhai Lane Self Catering (double/twin) 3 night package (inc guided walk)	$1795	Inquire
Kowhai Lane Self Catering (double/twin) each additional night add	$385	Inquire
Kowhai Lane Self catering Apartment (Double/Twin) 3 night package (inc guided walk)	$1795	n/a
Kowhai Lane Self catering Apartment (Double) each additional night add	$385	n/a
“Sails” Guided walk, Ulva Is (person)	$225	Inquire
“Sails” Scenic Road Tours (Person)	$95	Inquire

Season 1st May 2027- 30th April 2028.

Product	Rack Tariff	Exclusive
Sails Ashore Luxury Accommodation only (double/twin) 3 night package (inc Guided Walk and Road Tour)	$2913	$5000
Sails Ashore Luxury Accommodation only (double/twin) each additional night add	$737	$1200
Kowhai Lane Self Catering (double/twin) 3 night package (inc guided walk)	$1971	Inquire
Kowhai Lane Self Catering (double/twin) each additional night add	$423	Inquire
Kowhai Lane Self catering Apartment (Double/Twin) 3 night package (inc guided walk)	$1971	n/a
Kowhai Lane Self catering Apartment (Double) each additional night add	$423	n/a
“Sails” Guided walk, Ulva Is (person)	$247	Inquire
“Sails” Scenic Road Tours (Person)	$104	Inquire

Important !!!.

Single Guests will generally be placed in Sails Ashore Starboard Room, or Kowhai Lanes Kereru or Piwakawaka Room

Please note tour tariffs apply only to in-house guests

For clients staying elsewhere please ADD commission to the indicated tariffs.

The Road tour is available only if paired with an Ulva Island Tour

Cancellation Policy
longer than 60 days of arrival date………………10% forfeit of total tariff
8 to 60 days of arrival date………………………… 33% forfeit of total tariff
within 7 days of arrival date…………………….. 100% forfeit of total Tariff.
However for the period December 20th to January 10th
and all other Public Holidays no refund, unless we can rebook those dates.

Any postponement by the client is entirely at the hosts discretion

As both plane and ferry are subject to adverse weather (not often but it CAN happen)
We Strongly recommend Covid Friendly travel insurance.
Any cancelled booking we are subsequently able to fill will be refunded in full less 10%.
If a guest cancels a booked activity…………..No refund
If we cancel a booked activity…………………..Full refund

We are also happy to offer exclusive use of both Sails Ashore & Kowhai Lane and also to quote on special global packages for groups covering both properties.

Exclusive guided walks and scenic road tours as above.

We strongly recommend that guests with limited English should opt for exclusive activities.

Bank account Details as follows :-

Sails Ashore & “Sails” Activities…………….. 031355 0326506 00
Kowhai Lane…………………………………….…… 031355 0345571 00

Both accounts are with

SBS Bank,
51 Don St
PO BOX 835
Invercargill,
New Zealand.

Please also note that payment by Credit Card will attract a surcharge of 3%. However this does NOT apply to EFTPOS Cheque or Savings transactions.

Please note that some international bank transfers now attract a significant surcharge of as much as 15%, and in some cases, this has been deducted from the payment we receive, and the payor was not aware that this was happening.. As you will imagine this does not fill us with cheer and joy, and until we have this clarified we will not accept international bank transfers unless the full invoice amount is received…. please contact us as required.

We have online Availability and Booking with Freeonlinebooking and find it an excellent vehicle for bookings and especially so for an agent, saving your time and effort.

Although booking requests made by you have to be confirmed by us, in reality a booking request made through this system will be available and effectively confirmed on your making the request.

Please note that we will make every effort to adhere to the above rates. but do reserve the right to adjust if forced by rising fossil fuel prices, which we use for all heating, lighting and cooking.

Confirmed bookings will of course be honoured.

TRAVEL INSURANCE…….

Our weather can on occasions disrupt travel plans. For this reason we STRONGLY recommend travel insurance for both our International & domestic guests.

For transport to and from the Island please contact operators direct.

Stewart Island Flights, ……… Scheduled Flights 365 days a year. Invercargill Airport to Oban (Stewart Island).
phone 64 3 218 9129 or email sif@xtra.co.nz www.stewartislandflights.com

Stewart Island Ferry Services, ……… Schedule sailings 365 days a year. Bluff to Oban (Stewart Island).
phone 64 3 212 7660 or email info@si.co.nz www.stewartislandexperence.co.nz

A note to all agents

We have 2 rooms at Sails Ashore, but really only work our Port Room, with Starboard showing online as unavailable . Both rooms are available for two couples travelling together of course, and occasionally we’ll do a short overlap if one or both bookings are several days stay. We aren’t getting any younger (both in our ‘70’s) and really want to enjoy our guests, without an overwhelming work load.

All the above applies to Kowhai Lane Lodge as well of course. There, our Piwakawaka Room is the equivalent of Sails Ashore Starboard Room.

If anything doesn’t make sense, or you wish to discuss then please do ask.

Our best regards…………. Iris, Anne & Peter Tait

Cruise Ships

Cruise Ships can have an impact on the visitor experience although the smaller ships are generally not so much an issue. But the village becomes chaotic with the larger vessels. If your clients booking coincides with a ship visit we do our best to minimise any negative impacts. For example we try and schedule the Ulva Island tour for the afternoon, as generally the ships like to visit in the morning. And the Port William walk gets our guests right out of the village … and is a lovely walk as well. We can assist and advise once guests arrive

Cruise Ship Dates 2026/27

Date	Ship	Max Passengers
20 Nov	Heritage Adventure	140
11 Dec	Silver Moon	596
13 Dec	Coral Adventurer	120
16 Dec	Coral Adventurer	120
28 Dec	Coral Adventurer	120
29 Dec	Le Soleal	264
03 Jan	Heritage Adventure	140
09 Jan	Coral Adventurer	140
12 Jan	Le Soleal	264
24 Jan	Silver Moon	596
7 Feb	Silver Moon	596
13 Feb	Azamara Quest	722
03 Mar	Hanseatic Spirit	240
03 Mar	Heritage Adventure	140
04 Mar	Seabourn Quest	478
08 Mar	Hanseatic Spirit	240
12 Mar	Europa 2	544
12 Mar	Minerva	152