New Zealand’s Stewart Island/Rakiura: A Wilderness Haven

• Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third-largest island, was captured in a rare cloud-free satellite image by Landsat 9 on May 14, 2026.
• The island hosts a massive population of the Stewart Island tokoeka (a flightless kiwi subspecies), significantly outnumbering the approximately 500 human residents.
• 85 percent of the land is protected under Rakiura National Park, featuring diverse ecosystems including podocarp-hardwood forests, wetlands, and dunes.

Biodiversity and Conservation

• The island provides a sanctuary for rare bird species, such as the kākāpō, the world's heaviest flightless parrot.
• Ulva Island, located near the main settlement, serves as a successful model for predator eradication after rats were eliminated in 1997.
• Large-scale conservation efforts are currently underway across Stewart Island/Rakiura to eradicate invasive species including rats, possums, feral cats, and hedgehogs.

Dark Sky Sanctuary

• In 2019, the island was designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary due to its remote, low-light pollution environment.
• The Māori name 'Rakiura' translates to 'glowing skies,' reflecting the island's prominence as a site for viewing the aurora australis.
• The clear night skies allow observers to track celestial objects like the Jewel Box star cluster and the Centaurus A galaxy, which are often targets for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope observations.