South Island

The south Island is the larger of the two principal islands of New Zealand. It is separated from the North Island by the Cook Strait and is bordered on its east coast by the Pacific Ocean and to the west by the Tasman Sea. Other than a few off-shore islands, it is a clear run down to Antarctica. Christchurch, on the eastern shore, serves many countries as an international base for Antarctic expeditions.

The South Island is sometimes called the “mainland”. While it has a 33% larger landmass than the North Island, only 24% of New Zealand’s 4.5 million inhabitants live in the South Island. In the early stages of European settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population and wealth due to the 1860s gold rush.

Compared to the more populated and multi-ethnic North Island, the South Island has a smaller, more homogeneous resident population of around 1.1 million.

Tourism is a huge export earner for the South Island. Numerous walking and hiking paths, some of which, like the Milford and Routeburn Tracks have huge international recognition. Fiordland, Abel Tasman, Aoraki/Mt. Cook and Westland National Parks as well as Queenstown, Kaikoura and The Marlborough Sounds districts are regarded as the main tourism destinations in the South Island and amongst the Top 10 destinations in the country.

Principals cities have connecting air services and the island has it’s main trunk rail line hugging the eastern coast from Picton (ferry terminal) to Christchurch. From here, you can take a ride across the picturesque Southern Alps (Tranz Alpine) to Greymouth on the west coast. There are no trains down the western side of the island, but a network of roads. Despite the relative short apparent distances between places, it is wise to leave extra time for travels by car. One reason is that most roads are only one lane in each direction and secondly, you will have a “Kodak moment” around almost every bend in the road.

A bit of South Island history

Various Maori group settled much of the territory. Early migration, intermarriage and wars led to the emergence of the Ngati Tahu as the dominate iwi (tribe). Around the same time a group of Māori migrated to Rekohu (Chatham Islands) where, by adapting to the local climate and the availability of resources, they developed a culture known as Moriori, related to but distinct from Māori culture in mainland New Zealand. A notable feature of the Moriori culture, an emphasis on pacifism which proved disadvantageous when Māori warriors arrived in the 1830s aboard a chartered European ship.

The first Europeans known to reach the South Island were the crew of Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. Tasman sketched sections of the two main islands’ west coasts.and called them Staten Landt, after the States general of the Netherlands and that name appeared on his first maps of the country. Dutch cartographers changed the name to Nova Zeelandia, from Nieuw Zeeland, after the Dutch province of Zeeland. It was subsequently Anglicised as New Zealand by Capt. Cook who voyaged to the islands more than 100 years after Tasman during (1769–1770).

Interesting fact: Although the island has been known as the South Island for many years, the New Zealand Geographic Board has found that, along with the North Island, it has no official name. The board intends to make South Island the island’s official name, along with an alternative Māori name. Although several Māori names have been used, Te Wai Pounami is most often used. This is the Maori name meaning “The Water(s) of Greenstone” possibly evolved from Te Wāhi Pounamu which means “The Place Of Greenstone”.