Rakiura day walks: Walking Guide, Time & Access

Route overview

Day walks and tracks offer the opportunity to explore further afield from Halfmoon Bay on Stewart Island/Rakiura. Times indicated are return-starting from the Rakiura National Park Visitor Centre.

This DOC directory entry covers Rakiura day walks in Southland, within Rakiura National Park / Stewart Island/Rakiura. Where DOC groups several walks, times and grades refer to the listed options rather than a single continuous itinerary.

Distance, time and grade

• Distance: 3.8 km or 9.8 km return return via same track
• Walking time: 4 or 7 hr return
• DOC grade: Easy

Access and alerts

Source checked 2026-10-08. This page is a dated snapshot, not a live track-status report. Check current DOC route information immediately before travelling. An absence of listed alerts does not establish that a route is open.

Dog access

No dogs. Other pets on conservation land rules.

Description

Garden Mound – Little River

Time: 4 to 5 hr returnDistance: 3.8 km return

For panoramic forest views over the settled areas of Oban, a tramp up Garden Mound cannot be beaten. Garden Mound escaped the early milling activity that was widespread from Port William/Potirepo to the northern coast of Paterson Inlet/Whaka a Te Wera. In the early 1900s, Garden Mound was a popular place for locals to visit, being one of the few areas close to the village with forest still intact and where birds were common.

Huge rimu, rātā, miro and kāmahi, along with ferns and mosses are a feature of the track, which reaches a height of 160m before dropping steadily down towards Little River. A scenic round trip is possible by returning via the Great Walk track following the coast to Lee Bay, through the chain link sculpture which marks the entrance to Rakiura National Park.

Caution – Garden Mound track is steep, slippery and muddy in places as it is a tramping track and tramping boots need to be worn.

Directions

At Halfmoon Bay, turn left to walk north past the general store. Walk along Horseshoe Bay Road for approximately an hour, until you reach the Lee Bay Road turnoff at the far end of Horseshoe Bay. The start of Garden Mound track is signposted on the left, about 10 minutes along the road to Lee Bay. Return via the coastal track to Lee Bay and follow the road back to Horseshoe Bay and on to Halfmoon Bay.

Māori Beach

Time: 6 to 7 hr returnDistance: 9.8 km return

For those wanting to venture further afield into Rakiura National Park, Māori Beach is an excellent choice for a day walk, offering stunning scenery, plenty of local history and a taste of the Rakiura Great Walk.

Between 1913 and 1935 the Māori Beach area was a busy settlement with a school, along with several houses for workers from the Māori Beach Sawmilling Company. After the mill closed in 1931, the last operating mill on Stewart Island/Rakiura, people gradually drifted away. Today the area is peaceful and picturesque, with regenerating forest quickly hiding evidence of those earlier days. However, remains of a boiler and steam engine used by the mill can still be found, along with clumps of montbretia and daffodil – legacies from the sawmillers’ cottages.

Getting there

Stewart Island/Rakiura is accessed by plane from Invercargill or by ferry from Bluff.

Sources and reuse

Route descriptions and practical information reproduced from the Department of Conservation, Crown copyright, under CC BY 4.0, subject to DOC's copyright policy. Formatting has been adapted, including flattening page sections; follow the original DOC page for maps, section-specific layout, current notices and linked documents. Outdoor Next is independent and is not endorsed by DOC.

The accompanying photograph is a licensed general hiking illustration, not a photograph of this route.