Stephens Island, New Zealand

Stephens Iceland ( Māori: Takapourewa ) is a small rocky island between the North Island and South Island of New Zealand.

Geography and History

Stephens Iceland is located in the Marlborough Sounds, a group of small volcanic islands in the Cook Strait, 2.9 km north-east of D' Urville Iceland. The Marlborough Sounds are the northernmost tip of the South Island of New Zealand. This island is quite difficult to achieve, because in this region too winds up to 14 knots (14 miles / hour). Stephens Iceland was first described in 1642 by Abel Tasman. The once forested island is called by the Maori Takapourewa.

Fauna

Stephens Iceland has a unique wildlife. Particularly well known is the Tuatara ( Sphenodon spp.), With 50,000 copies has its largest population on the island. Moreover, here there is one of the most primitive species of frog in the world, Hamilton Frog ( Leiopelma hamiltoni ). Many species of seabirds breed on the only 184 -acre island and the tuatara use their burrows as shelter. Especially notoriety gained the fate of Stephen panties ( Xenicus lyalli ). This almost flightless birds were first described in 1894 and exterminated in the subsequent years of cats. Even the renowned author TC Boyle ( Wellville ) dealt with the extinction of this species.

Lighthouse

The lighthouse Iceland Stephen Light is in the north of the island at an altitude of 183 meters. The lighthouse itself has a height of 15 meters above the ground. The light is still visible at a distance of 33 km.