Stewart Island, or Rakiura in Maori, is the third island of New Zealand. It is the most southern of the three, 30 km from the South Island, 1 hour by boat or 30 minutes by plane. This antipodean paradise of 1,746 km² stretches over 65 kilometers from north to south and 40 kilometers at the widest point from east to west, for a total of 750 kilometers of coastline.Discovered by Captain Cook in 1770, it was mistaken for a peninsula. This mistake was only corrected at the beginning of the 19th century, when the first whale hunters settled there. Its name comes from Captain William Stewart, who was the first to go there aboard the Pegasus, in 1809. The territory was bought from the Maoris in 1864 for £6,000. In Polynesian tradition, it is referred to as Te Punga o Te Waka a Maui ("the stone anchor of Maui's canoe"). But Rakiura(The Land of the Glowing Skies ) was the term commonly used, probably referring to its beautiful sunsets and sunrises.A true hymn to nature, Stewart Island is covered by bush (kamahi and rimu) and has magnificent sandy beaches. 170 small islands border its shores and the last of the 14 national parks of the country, the Rakiura National Park, was created here in 2002. It is very famous for its multiple hiking trails and the observation of kiwis and other endemic species. The activity is very little developed here and is limited to Oban, its only village. Most of the 387 inhabitants of the island live in this locality.

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