Enjoy beautiful nature strolls on Stewart Island
2010-04-28
When traveling to New Zealand, many tourists expect to commune with nature and experience the storied beauty of the island nation as depicted in movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Avatar. For those visitors who seek out a more personal connection with the island's natural settings and native people, a trip to Stewart Island may be the perfect choice.
Stewart Island, also known as Rakiura, is the third largest island in New Zealand and is located off the southern tip of the Southern Island. The disunite landmass bears a deep spiritual resonance with the native Maori peoples and thus remains largely undeveloped.
Much of the island is covered in lush forests, with most of the population (a collection of roughly 400 people) residing in the eastern city of Oban. Over the years, the island has become something of a hiker's paradise, as roadways are few and far between, and natural, often beautiful vegetation grows wild and free.
Beaches on Stewart represent a wide variety of geographic types ranging from black iron sand, white with hints of quartz that give off a red hue, or gold lined with pyrite - also known as fool's gold.