Stewart Island: The Land

Most outsiders think of New Zealand as comprised of two islands…North and South.  In fact, there are 700 islands.  

We visited the third largest…Stewart Island...the one marked on the map...just off the south tip of the South Island.

We landed here after a bumpy flight from the South Island on the smallest plane Carol had ever flown in.

Stewart Island has 400 inhabitants…mostly residing in the town of Oban.  Despite its size, the town is quite cosmopolitan.  

It has a phone booth...

…and golf course.

Stewart Island is a magical place.  It and the rest of New Zealand physically separated from Australia 35 million years ago.  It’s had a long time to develop its own ecosystems.

It has species of ferns that pre-date the dinosaurs.  Its Rimu trees stopped evolving 15 million years ago and has separate male and female trees.  



Until man first arrived 700 years ago, there were no land mammals and no predators.

Eighty-five percent of Stewart Island is national park.  There are 28 km of roads on the Island  and 285 km of hiking trails.  The Department of Conservation has done a magnificent job building, maintaining, and marking these trails.

There are unique plant species…

Lady Slipper Orchid

Crown Fern

…and lots of birds you’ll see only in New Zealand...

Weka

Tui bird

 

New Zealand Bush Pigeon

Kaka (NZ Parrot)

Saddleback

StewartIsland Robin

White Faced Heron

If the land is like this, just imagine what the surrounding ocean is like.  On our next blog post, we’ll take you out to the islands surrounding Stewart Island that are teeming with sea life.