General
- Rakiura Charters and Rakiura Water Taxi are divisions of Rakiura Charters Limited.
- All photographs copyright to Rakiura Charters Limited unless otherwise stated.
- You may provide any credit card or other details over the internet at your own risk; email is not a secure facility. Rakiura Charters Limited will not be held liable for any fraud resulting from this activity. We recommend phoning through your confirmation details, or booking through our instant book function instead.
General
Vessels
We reserve the right to alter tour itineraries, and to substitute vessels, for any reason and at any time, without prior notice.
Departure and Return Wharf Locations
We reserve the right to alter tour departure and return locations between the two main wharf locations utilised by tour operators based on Stewart Island/ Rakiura. These are the Halfmoon Bay wharf and the Golden Bay wharf. The Halfmoon Bay wharf is located in Halfmoon Bay directly across from the South Sea Hotel, and is where the Bluff ferry disembarks. The Golden Bay wharf is an approximate 15 min walk from the Oban waterfront. Please see the map attached and make yourself familiar with these locations. Any changes will be communicated with the customer via text, phone or email.
Aurora Cab service can be reached on 0277227935 to arrange any required transfers.
Please ensure that you have provided us with your direct cell phone contact number so that we are able to advise you of any changes to your service’s start or finish locations.
Rakiura Charters Limited does not accept any liability for transfer fees related to transfers that may be booked by the customer in the case of a departure or return location change, or for any cancellation fees that may be related to a No Show due to customer’s failure to check-in at the correct departure location.
Payment
Full payment of your service is due at the time of booking. Please note that confirmation of your booking is deemed as acceptance of having your credit or debit card (as provided), charged remotely by us through our secure online payment gateway, unless you have written agreement to pay cash at check in. An email receipt is available on request. Please note that a 2.5% card surcharge will be added to card payments.
No Compensation
Please be advised that we may not be able to honour this booking if more stringent COVID restrictions are in place at the time of your scheduled booking, or if we as employers believe that there is an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of our employees, customers and community at that time. No compensation will be made for our inability to provide services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cancelation Policy – General
All Cancellations should be made in writing via email and should state the reason for the cancellation:
a) If a cancellation is made more than 48 hrs prior to travel, a full refund will be issued, less any merchant service and administration fees payable (currently 5%) plus any commission payable to agents for agent bookings;
b) If a cancellation is received within 48 hrs prior to travel, 100% of the booking fare is due.
Cancellation Policy – Freshwater River, Rakeahua, Fred’s Camp, North Arm
Confirmation of any of these services is deemed as acceptance of the following conditions:
- Please note in the case that other existing or potential customers cancel this service resulting in the minimum fare no longer being met, the minimum fare will need to be covered by you, and your credit/ debit card as supplied will be charged the full minimum fare, to ensure that we are able to honour this service.
- In extreme weather circumstances, there is a possibility that our service may be cancelled. Customers on the track should be prepared to stay at their scheduled pick up location for an extra night, or until the weather allows a safe pick up. Please ensure you are carrying at least one extra night’s food, water and clothing.
- If, after having commenced your scheduled service (after consideration of the weather forecast and conditions are deemed safe) we are forced to abandon or are unable to complete your scheduled service due to poor weather, you may be liable to pay the full fare, part fare, or minimum fare (whichever is applicable at the time) for both the failed attempt at your service, in addition to a successful service completed during more appropriate weather conditions. This payment may be charged to your supplied credit or debit card without further notice.
Cancelation Policy – Coast to Coast
Cancellation of a booking outside 48 prior to the flight departure time or water taxi departure time, whichever is the earliest, will incur a cancellation fee of 20% of the applicable fare. Cancellation inside 48 hours of the flight departure time, or water taxi departure time, whichever is the earliest, or failure to avail a flight or water taxi for which a reservation is held, will incur forfeiture of the fare. Any refund application must be lodged with us in writing via email within 30 days of the date of travel.
Cancellation due to weather:
If we cancel due to adverse weather, a postponement or gift voucher to the value of your booking will be offered. If you prefer not to accept a postponement or gift voucher, a full refund will be issued, less any commission payable to agents for agent bookings.
If, after having already commenced your scheduled service (after consideration of the weather forecast and conditions are deemed safe) we are forced to abandon or are unable to complete your scheduled service due to poor weather, you may be liable to pay the full fare, part fare, or minimum fare (whichever is applicable at the time) for both the failed attempt at your service, in addition to a successful service completed during more appropriate weather conditions. This payment may be charged to your supplied credit or debit card without further notice. Booking of this service is deemed acceptance of this condition.
If you decide to cancel due to weather conditions that don’t meet your satisfaction (but we deem to be acceptable to continue the trip), our General Cancellation Policy (or Coast to Coast Cancellation Policy, whichever applies) will apply.
If you are unable to meet your scheduled service due to poor weather, and have already commenced your trip (ie you are already tramping in the Rakiura National Park and have a scheduled service to bring you out of the park), we are happy to consider your circumstances on a case-by-case basis, however please note that you may be liable to pay the full fare where cancellation is inside 48 hrs prior to scheduled departure.
Refunds
To apply for a refund, please either phone us or email info@rakiuracharters.co.nz. Please advise Order number, reason for refund and contact details. On assessment of eligibility and approval, we will process a refund. Please note all transactions are conducted in New Zealand Dollars (NZD). Due to exchange rate fluctuations, at times there may be some variance in the amounts refunded compared to the amount initially charged. Rakiura Charters Limited does not accept any liability for these variances or any subsequent credit card/bank charges relating to these transfers to customer’s accounts. Please note that refunds are generally not permitted via a method (or to a different card) other than that used for the original transaction; this condition is in line with Payment Card Industry security standards, and within the limits of our payment gateway software capabilities.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend travel insurance for all travelers.
Booking Office
Our booking office is located on 10 Main Road and is open between 8:30am and 5:30pm (Summer). We can also be contacted by phone or email on the details below for all enquiries, year round except Christmas Day.
Ngā mihi nui, kia pai tō rā,
The Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi Team
