Theme Week New Zealand – Stewart Island

25 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Oban and Halfmoon Bay © Khalaan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Oban and Halfmoon Bay © Khalaan/cc-by-sa-3.0

Stewart Island (Māori: Rakiura, lit. ‘glowing skies‘, officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand‘s third-largest island, located 30 kilometres (16 nautical miles) south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land area of 1,746 km² (674 sq mi). Its 164-kilometre (102 mi) coastline is deeply creased by Paterson Inlet (east), Port Pegasus (south), and Mason Bay (west). The island is generally hilly (rising to 980 metres or 3,220 feet at Mount Anglem) and densely forested. Flightless birds, including penguins, thrive because there are few introduced predators. Almost all the island is owned by the New Zealand government, and over 80 per cent of the island is set aside as the Rakiura National Park.   read more…

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