Publié: 16.03.2023
After visiting Fjordland, we drove to the south - to Bluff - and then a little further: a ferry took us to Stewart Island - the third largest island in New Zealand with an area of (only) 1,746 square kilometers (70km north-south, 40km east-west). This island is 80% national park, has 440 inhabitants and is inhabited by about 20,000 kiwis. Here you actually have a realistic chance of seeing one in the wild.
We spent 2 nights on the island and - to optimize our chances - participated in a guided kiwi search tour on each of these nights. And it worked: on the first night we saw 3 kiwis, on the second 2.
Otherwise, there wasn't that much to say about Stewart Island. During the day we did a few smaller hikes, which were quite nice, but could have been done elsewhere as well. The kiwis were definitely the top priority ... maybe the pictures give a little impression of the rest.