Rakiura Impressions

In 2002, 85 per cent of Stewart Island was designated as Rakiura National Park, named for the Maori word meaning “Land of the Glowing Skies.” The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Dennis Passa writes that sampling locally caught fish is part of the island experience. Passa’s guide, pilot Raymond Hector, recalls catching some blue cod and taking them into “quaint” local restaurant South Sea Hotel. “They battered them, threw in a few chips and a bit of lemon and we sat down to eat. It was 40 minutes from the time the fish were minding their own business until we were having them for lunch,” Hector said. Stewart Island has only 300 to 400 year-round residents, most around the township of Oban. The number swells to more than 3000 in the summer.