Rakiura National Park

Subantarctic Stewart Island, which lies 30 kilometres south of the South Island, has a land area of nearly 2000 square kilometres, and 85% of it is included within the boundaries of Rakiura National Park.

Night time is very special in this park for other reasons too. While you're tucked up inside a Department of Conservation hut, nocturnal bird life provides an unforgettable chorus. You'll hear the calls of ruru (the native owl), weka and kiwi. On Stewart Island, you have an excellent chance of seeing kiwi in the wild.

The most recent addition to New Zealand's national park portfolio, Rakiura is an enchanted world of unmodified ecosystems and habitats. From dense coastal rainforests and freshwater wetlands to vast sand dunes and granite mountain ranges, the park provides an exceptional opportunity to see native wildlife and primeval landscapes.