New ZealandIsland
Stewart Island/Rakiura
1,676 km² rising to 980 m out of 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
1,676km²
Area
680km
Coastline
980m
Highest point
Mount Anglem / Hananui
381
People
14°C
Warmest sea
February
1,680km
To the mainland
When to go to Stewart Island/Rakiura
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in February (14 °C) and coolest in August (11 °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.
New Zealand's third largest island, 30 km south of the South Island
Stewart Island/Rakiura is an island in New Zealand. It covers 1,676 km², with 680 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Anglem / Hananui, rises to 980 m. About 381 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,680 km away.
Getting there
- Invercargill Airport (IVC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 73 km in a straight lineCar hire at IVC airport (Invercargill)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesBluff - Oban, Ulva Island
- 1,680 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 Stewart Island/Rakiura.
- 194beachesKaipipi Beach, Swains Beach, Bathing Beach and 191 more
- 5viewpointsObservation Rock, Ackers Point and 3 more
- 1lighthousesAckers Point lighthouse
- 1ferry terminalsStewart Island Ferry
- 34named peaksMount Anglem / Hananui, Mount Allen, Table Hill and 31 more
- 5waterfallsBelltopper Falls and 4 more
- 7ruins and archaeological sitesHistoric dam, Johnston log hauler, Māori Beach Sawmill and 4 more
- 3waymarked walking routesGW - 09 Rakiura Track, Rakiura - north west circuit, Rakiura - southern circuit
- 7campsitesPort William Campsite, Sawdust Bay Campsite, Māori Beach Campsite and 4 more
- 24hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 5restaurants, cafés and bars
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
Stewart Island/Rakiura in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Stewart Island/Rakiura, each with its own numbers.
45beaches and covesCoastya
1waterfallCascadyas
Beach with the warmest sea
15.0°C
Smoky Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
45 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Red Beach14.1°C
- The Settlement14.1°C
- Kellys Beach13.9°C
- Salty Beach13.9°C
- Smoky Beach15.0°C
- Little Hellfire Beach14.5°C
- Big Hellfire Beach14.5°C
- East Ruggedy Beach14.9°C
37 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Belltopper Falls
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 173 m above the sea. 65 % of it is below 200 m.
- 20 %0–50 m
- 45 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 3 %500–1,000 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.
50 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) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
| Night low (°C) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Sea (°C) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 116 | 95 | 103 | 101 | 114 | 102 | 99 | 90 | 105 | 111 | 109 | 104 |
| Wet days | 18 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 7.3 | 6.9 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.1 | 7.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 19 |
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 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.1 |
| 2022 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.8 |
| 2023 | +2.4 | +2.9 | +2.1 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +2.0 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.9 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q41684) · 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, Cascadyas — 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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