Stewart Island is home to one of New Zealand's Great Walks, the Rakiura Track, as well as a number of walking and hiking trails.
Discover peace, birdsong and stunning coastal scenery on the 36km, 3-day circuit that is the Rakiura Track. Enjoy beautiful wilderness beaches and fall asleep to the call of the morepork after hiking beautiful beaches and native forest. There are two accommodation huts and three campsites on the track.
If you're after something shorter, there's a multitude of day hiking tracks that leave from Halfmoon Bay. Try the 2-hour Fern Gully track or the 4-hour Horseshoe Point Track.
Recommended Experience:
RAKIURA TRACK
✔ Beautiful wilderness beaches
✔ Birdsong and Brown Kiwis
✔ Fascinating Maori history
GRADE: INTERMEDIATE
DISTANCE: 32 KMS
TIME: 3 DAYS
Stewart Island is the place to find peace and solitude, surrounded by a habitat that has changed little for thousands of years.
During the day, your feet will find the rhythm of the trail; at night you’ll be lulled to sleep by the "morepork" call of owls and the occasional screech of a kiwi bird. Stewart Island has a huge bird population.
While people number less than 400, the island’s rich, pure podocarp forest is a sanctuary for native birds. The track itself follows the open coast, climbs over forested ridges and traverses sheltered coastline. Most of the track is board-walked. Beautiful wilderness beaches are a special feature; Maori Beach was once the site of a Maori village and a sawmill.
