Rakiura National Park

Rakiura covers most of Stewart Island, the third and southernmost of New Zealand's main islands, an hour by ferry across Foveaux Strait from Bluff. Around four hundred people live at Oban, and beyond the village the island is forest, granite hills and long empty beaches. The Rakiura Track loops from the village over a headland and along the coast in three days, staying in huts, while the much harder North West Circuit takes ten days or more and is known chiefly for its mud. The island's kiwi are unusual in feeding by day as well as at night, so sightings are more likely here than anywhere on the mainland. Southern lights appear on clear winter nights.

What you actually see

• Kiwi in daylight - the local subspecies, active by day as well as after dark.
• The Rakiura Track - the three-day Great Walk loop from Oban along the coast.
• Ulva Island - the predator-free island in Paterson Inlet, reached by water taxi.
• Empty beaches - long stretches of sand on the eastern coast with nobody on them.

When to go

October to April gives the longest days and the best chance of settled weather, though rain falls throughout the year and the tracks stay wet regardless. Winter is cold, dark and quiet, and the best time for southern lights on a clear night. Book huts and ferry crossings ahead for summer, and build in a spare day for weather.

Honest expectations

The Foveaux Strait crossing has a reputation for being rough and plenty of people are sick on it; flying costs more but takes twenty minutes. Tracks are muddy to a degree that surprises even experienced walkers. Oban has one store, limited fuel and few beds, so nothing can be arranged on arrival. Sandflies are constant, and kiwi sightings are still not guaranteed.

Nearby

Ulva Island and Paterson Inlet are minutes from Oban, with Bluff and Invercargill across the strait.