Hiking in Hiker Paradise

Located south of the southernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island, Stewart Island boasts one village (population 400) and miles of untamed wilderness.

The Rakiura Track is Stewart Island's most accessible and popular trail. It's also the easiest, with planks and walkways that separate hikers' boots from the mud and water that is part of the Stewart Island hiking experience on more remote trails. And, at only 22 miles (three days), it's short enough to offer a backcountry experience to people not interested in a ten-day expedition.

The Rakiura track features beautiful coastline dotted with sand dunes and an inland trek through scrub. Birders will be especially rewarded—this is one of the best places in the country to see the native symbol, the endangered kiwi bird, as well as parakeets and parrots, penguins, wood pigeons, and fantails.

And, if you're lucky, you might be rewarded with the night-time fireworks of the Aurora Australis, which are said to be the origin of the Maori name Rakiura, which means "land of the glowing sky."