The Rakiura National Park is situated on Stewart Island and is the youngest national park in New Zealand. Established only a few years ago in 2002, this national park covers a land area of 163 km2 i.e. around 85% of Stewart Island. Pristine and unspoilt by development, this national park is a popular destination for birdwatchers, who come here in large numbers to see New Zealand’s national bird, the kiwi, living in the wild. This park is a bird watcher’s haven and is home to a number of other native New Zealand bird species as well.

You can get to Stewart Island via a 20 minute plane ride from Invercargill enjoying some lovely aerial views as you fly by, or if you prefer, you can reach the island and national park by ship, which is can hour long ride.

One of the most popular activities on Stewart Island and in the Rakiura National Park is tramping, even though most of the tracks here are just a few hours long and hardly take a day to complete. If you like you can spend a few days on the island and also enjoy the secluded beaches here as well.

One of the main attractions of the Rakiura National Park is the Rakiura Track, which is one of New Zealand’s Great Walks. This 29 km long, three day tramping track starts and ends in the town of Oban, with an easy and well marked out walking circuit. There is much to see and enjoy as you walk along this track.

The Rakiura National Park features over 245 km of walking tracks, another excellent track lies in the north of the Stewart Island. The North West Circuit Track is a 125 km long trail that takes at least 10 days to complete and is best attempted by experienced trampers. For novice and beginner trampers, there are a number of short and half day walks found here.

Another great activity to enjoy inside this national park is kiwi spotting. Slightly different from the mainland kiwi, the kiwis on Stewart Island have larger beaks and legs and can usually be found wandering round the beaches here. If you go tramping on the North West Circuit Track you will see many kiwis in Mason Bay.