Park establishment

Rakiura National Park is the 14th of New Zealand's national parks and was officially opened on 9 March 2002 by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, the Minister of Conservation, Sandra Lee, and the mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary.^[1] It is New Zealand's newest national park.^[2]

Fauna

Many native birds can be found within the park, and Rakiura offers perhaps the best opportunity anywhere in New Zealand for viewing kiwi in the wild. This is in part due to the absence of stoats and ferrets. Home to the Southern brown kiwi or Tokoeka, this is the largest of the kiwi species. There are thought to be around 15,000 kiwi on Stewart Island / Rakiura.^[7]

Certain coastal areas of this park are breeding areas for the endangered yellow-eyed penguin.^[8] Weka, a flightless and curious bird species, can only be found on offshore islands.^[9] The South Island kākā can commonly be seen near the town of Halfmoon Bay and Ulva Island.^[10]

In the 1970s, kākāpō were found in the Tin Range at a time when it was thought that the species was nearly extinct. The kākāpō have been transferred to nearby Codfish Island / Whenua Hou, which is not part of the national park.^[11]

Rakiura Track

The popular Rakiura Track is within the national park. The track typically takes three days and two nights to complete, the track is 32 kilometres (20 mi) long. The track meanders through lowland kāmahi, tōtara and rimu forest. The track takes in Port William and the north arm of Paterson Inlet.^[12][13] Rakiura kiwi is often seen at night time near the huts.^[14][15][16]

Northwest Circuit

The Northwest Circuit circumnavigates the northern and western aspects of Stewart Island. The track is 125 kilometres (78 mi) long and takes most people between eight and ten days to complete. Most of the track is along the coastline visiting a series of very isolated sandy beaches. Once it reaches Mason Bay, the track crosses the Freshwater Depression before reaching Paterson Inlet. There are ten huts on the track which are, in general, spaced between five and seven hours walk apart.^[12]

Southern Circuit

The Southern Circuit is a challenging nine-day tramping trip. It is 70 kilometres (43 mi) long, and after rain can involve long periods of walking in mud and deep water.^[12] The Southern Circuit takes in Doughboy Bay Hut. This eight-bed hut is the southernmost hut in the Department of Conservation's network.^[14]