Oban Stewart Island

Oban on Halfmoon Bay is the only settlement on Stewart Island and the southernmost village in New Zealand: about four hundred permanent residents, one shop, one pub, a museum, and around twenty-five kilometres of road on an island of nearly 1,700 square kilometres, more than eighty per cent of which is Rakiura National Park. Bringing a car is impractical and unnecessary. Two things make it unlike anywhere else in the country. Rakiura tokoeka, the local kiwi, are numerous and can turn up on the edge of the village at night, which almost nowhere else offers. And the island is inside a dark sky sanctuary, so on a clear night the Milky Way and, with luck, the aurora australis are visible from the shore. Ulva Island is ten minutes away by water taxi. Weather is Southern Ocean weather and ferry crossings across Foveaux Strait are frequently rough.

What to look for

• The village - four hundred people, one shop, one pub, twenty-five km of road.
• Kiwi near the settlement - at night, which is rare anywhere else.
• The dark sky - Milky Way and sometimes the aurora australis.
• Rakiura National Park - eighty per cent of the island around it.

When to go

October to April. Book ferries or flights and accommodation well ahead - both are limited. Expect the Foveaux crossing to be rough; flights are the alternative.

Before you go

One shop with limited stock and high prices - bring what you need. Sandflies are severe. The strait crossing is genuinely rough and cancellations happen. Do not bring a car.

Nearby

Ulva Island is ten minutes by water taxi; Mason Bay is across the island.