New ZealandNew Zealand Subantarctic IslandsIslandUNESCO World Heritage
Snares Islands/Tini Heke
3.7 km² of land in the Tasman Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
3.7km²
Area
36km
Coastline
130m
Highest point
0
People
13°C
Warmest sea
February
1,695km
To the mainland
When to go to Snares Islands/Tini Heke
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in February (13 °C) and coolest in August (10 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Small group of islands SSW of Stewart Island, New Zealand
Snares Islands/Tini Heke is an island in New Zealand. It belongs to New Zealand Subantarctic Islands. It covers 3.7 km², with 36 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 130 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 1,695 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Invercargill Airport (IVC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 221 km in a straight lineCar hire at IVC airport (Invercargill)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 1,695 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Snares Islands/Tini Heke.
- 1named peaksPenguin Slope
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Snares Islands/Tini Heke in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Snares Islands/Tini Heke, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
13.0°C
Sinkhole Gut
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Sinkhole Gutcove13.0°C
- Mollymawk Baycove13.0°C
- Boat Harbourcove13.0°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 45 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 56 %0–50 m
- 44 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
2 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Night low (°C) | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Sea (°C) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 136 | 107 | 112 | 104 | 101 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 99 | 92 | 93 | 111 |
| Wet days | 20 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 6.5 | 5.8 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 6.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 33 | 31 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +1.6 |
| 2023 | +2.4 | +2.5 | +1.8 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.8 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +1.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.


About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q41455) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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