Rakiura Track
A three-day Great Walk circuit on Stewart Island/Rakiura, along open beaches and through forest to the sheltered shores of Paterson Inlet.
At a glance
- Loop from and back to
- Oban, Stewart Island/Rakiura
- Length
- 32 km
- On foot
- 3 days
- Countries
New Zealand
About the trail
Stewart Island/Rakiura lies across Foveaux Strait from the South Island, and most of it is protected as Rakiura National Park. The Rakiura Track loops out from the settlement of Oban along open coast, crosses a forested interior of rimu and kamahi, and returns along the sheltered shores of Paterson Inlet.
History is never far away: Māori had settlements and hunting camps here, including Pa Whakataka at Port William, sawmilling continued at Maori Beach until 1931, and a Norwegian whaling company kept a repair base in Prices Inlet in the 1920s and 1930s. Rakiura tokoeka, the island's kiwi, live in the forest and are sometimes seen at night.
The Department of Conservation describes a three-day walk that can start from Lee Bay, 5 km from Oban, or from the Fern Gully car park, with huts at Port William and North Arm and three campsites. It is a year-round Great Walk, every hut and campsite must be booked, and the stretch between Port William and North Arm can become very muddy after rain.