Stewart Island was known to the Maori as Rakiura (glowing skies) either on account of the striking sunsets or the periodic southern lights (Aurora Australis). The island is a dream location for ornithologists and bird watchers and offers the best kiwi watching in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s South Island is a spectacular land, which has been uplifted by prodigious earth forces. The South Island landscape is so different from the rolling green hills of the north that crossing Cook Strait is akin to travelling to another country.
New Zealand’s North Island is blessed with a mild maritime climate ranging from subtropical in the Far North to temperate in the rest of the island. The land was moulded aeons ago by the fierce fires of countless volcanoes - the last eruption was as recent as 1996, when giant Mt Ruapehu blew its top.
