Rakiura Track hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Rakiura Track is the southernmost of New Zealand's Great Walks. It is a 32 km loop on Stewart Island/Rakiura, the country's third-largest island, across Foveaux Strait from the bottom of the South Island. Most hikers take 3 days. The track follows open coastline and golden beaches, crosses forested hills and finishes along the sheltered shores of Paterson Inlet. You sleep in two booked Department of Conservation (DOC) huts or at three small campsites, and you carry all your food. Rakiura National Park covers most of the island, and Oban, the only town, is your base at both ends.

The route

The official track runs from Lee Bay, 5 km north of Oban, to the Fern Gully car park, 2 km west of Oban. From the chain-link sculpture at Lee Bay it follows the coast to Little River, rounds Peters Point to Maori Beach and climbs over a low hill to the junction with the inland track. A side track drops to Port William Hut above Magnetic Beach. Next morning you walk back 40 minutes to the junction and follow old logging tramlines through the forest to North Arm Hut on Paterson Inlet. The last day sidles past Sawdust Bay, Kidney Fern Arm and Kaipipi Bay and follows the old Kaipipi Road to Fern Gully and the road back into Oban.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap from Lee Bay to Oban, including the Port William side track both ways. It splits the walk into 3 stages, about 11.3 km each. The track never climbs above about 200 m, but it goes up and down all day, and the middle day is the longest and muddiest. Walking the 5 km road from Oban to Lee Bay adds about 1.5 hours to day 1.

Highlights

• Maori Beach and Magnetic Beach: long sandy bays, a swing bridge, and New Zealand sea lions resting on the sand
• Sawmilling relics: a rusting steam boiler near Maori Beach and old log haulers on the tramlines between Port William and North Arm
• Rakiura tokoeka (Stewart Island kiwi): about 15,000 live on the island, and you often hear them at night near the huts
• Paterson Inlet/Whaka a Te Wera: quiet tidal bays and wading birds, with a beach right in front of North Arm Hut
• Night skies: Stewart Island is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, and the aurora australis appears some nights

When to walk the Rakiura Track

The Rakiura Track is a year-round Great Walk, and huts and campsites must be booked in every season. December to March brings the longest days, the warmest weather (around 15°C on average) and the most hikers. Winter (June to August) is cold, short and wet, around 9°C, but hut fees are lower and the track is quiet. About 1,600 mm of rain falls a year, and wind, hail and heavy rain can arrive at short notice in any month.

How many days do you need?

The standard plan is 3 days: Lee Bay to Port William Hut (8 km, 3–4 hours), Port William to North Arm Hut (13 km, about 6 hours) and North Arm to Fern Gully (11 km, 4–4.5 hours) plus 2 km of road to Oban. You can stay up to 2 nights at each hut. Allow a spare day on the island before or after the walk in case the ferry or flights are cancelled by weather, and use it to visit Ulva Island, a predator-free bird sanctuary in Paterson Inlet.

Getting there and logistics

Stewart Island Experience (RealNZ) runs a passenger ferry from Bluff to Oban, about 1 hour across Foveaux Strait. Stewart Island Flights runs 20-minute flights from Invercargill. Bluff is about 30 km south of Invercargill. Oban has a supermarket, cafés, a hotel, lodges and backpackers, and the DOC Rakiura National Park Visitor Centre on Main Road, which hires personal locator beacons and gear lockers and has the latest track and weather updates. Shuttles run to Lee Bay, and water taxis can drop you at or collect you from the huts (North Arm only at suitable tides).

Booking is compulsory. Book every hut and campsite night on the DOC website before you travel. For 2026/27, adult hut fees from 1 October to 30 April are NZ$44 for New Zealanders and NZ$66 for international visitors. From May to September everyone pays NZ$38 (May–June) or NZ$31 (July–September). Campsites cost NZ$19 (NZ) or NZ$28 (international) in summer and NZ$6 in winter. Hut passes are not valid. Without a booking you may be fined or turned away.

Huts and campsites

Port William and North Arm huts each have 24 bunks with mattresses, a wood burner, tank water and toilets, but no gas cookers, lights or toilet paper. The three campsites (Māori Beach, Port William and North Arm) have 4 tent sites each, with a cooking shelter, rainwater tank and toilet; campers cannot use the huts. Boil all tank water: rats can contaminate it.

Money and phone signal

The island has one ATM, open only during shop hours, and it does not accept non-New Zealand cards; most businesses take Eftpos, Visa and Mastercard. Southland District Council charges a NZ$15 visitor levy. Mobile coverage is limited to Oban itself: there is no signal on the track.

What to pack

Pack for a wet, cool tramp: waterproof jacket and overtrousers, warm wool or fleece layers, hat, gloves and broken-in boots, plus gaiters and poles for the mud. Bring a 3–4 season sleeping bag (bunk rooms are unheated), a gas stove, fuel and pots, food plus a spare day, a rodent-proof food bag, toilet paper, insect repellent and a torch with a red filter for kiwi spotting.

Difficulty

DOC grades the Rakiura Track as an intermediate tramping track. The path is well formed, with boardwalks and bridges, but has many short, steep climbs and slippery roots, steps and netting. Between Port William and North Arm the mud can go above boot height after rain, in stretches up to 500 m long. Two creeks on the first day are easier at low tide: at Little River you can walk around the beach, and the creek at Maori Beach can be waded; at high tide use the bridges.

Safety

In an emergency call 111 and ask for police. There is no signal outside Oban, so carry a personal locator beacon. Leave your plans with someone at home, sign the hut books and keep to the track: the bush is dense and the valleys steep. Stay at least 20 m from sea lions, which move fast on land. Oban has a nurse-led health centre; the nearest hospital is in Invercargill, across the strait.

History

Māori used Rakiura for seasonal hunting and gathering for centuries, and Port William/Potirepo was the site of an early settlement, Pa Whakataka. In the 1800s sealers and whalers used its harbour. Sawmills opened at Kaipipi Bay in 1861 and later at Maori Beach, which had two mills and a school until milling stopped in 1931. The track between Kaipipi and Halfmoon Bay follows the old Kaipipi Road. Rakiura National Park was created in 2002, and the Rakiura Track became one of the Great Walks.