Stewart Island
offers the best chance most people will ever have to see New Zealand's national bird, the Kiwi, in its natural environment.  Rest assured not many New Zealanders can make that claim. Many centuries ago Maori came by  canoe to the island to harvest shellfish and mutton birds, traditions still carried out today by local iwi. They named the island Rakiura -  " Land of the Glowing Skies" as it is renowned for its lingering sunsets of summer and the aurora of winter.

Southland Map |  Waitutu Track Map