Raratoka Island is a small island 86 hectares (212.5 acre) in Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait

Foveaux Strait separates Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. Three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay, sweep along the strait's northern coast, which also hosts Bluff township and harbour. Across the strait lie the Solander...

 off the coast of Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is located 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) north of Stewart island's northernmost point, Black Rock Point, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the Southland

Southland Region

Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...

 town of Riverton

Riverton, New Zealand

Riverton or Aparima is a small town at the south of the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the Southland region and lies at the western end of Oreti Beach, 30 kilometres west of Invercargill on the Southern Scenic Route. It is approx. 45 km from Stewart Island and provides a safe harbour...

 on the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 mainland. Several small reefs surround the island, notably Escape Reefs, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the east, and Hapuka Rock, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the southwest.

The island was named by Māori after the Island of Rarotonga

Rarotonga

Rarotonga is the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 14,153 , out of the country's total population of 19,569.The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and international airport are on Rarotonga...

, and is the Southern Māori form of the same word, meaning "beneath the south" or "south wind".

Raratoka Island is used as an island sanctuary

Island restoration

The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some...

, with the Department of Conservation releasing 15 captive bred birds in 2006 after eradicating the population of Polynesian rat

Polynesian Rat

The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat , known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. The Polynesian Rat originates in Southeast Asia but, like its cousins, has become well travelled – infiltrating Fiji and most Polynesian...

s. The island contains a lighthouse and a small airstrip.