The island's landscape includes rugged coasts with dense coastal rainforest, sheltered inlets, forested hills, freshwater wetlands, vast sand dunes, and granite mountain ranges. The northern half of the island is covered by podocarp and hardwood forests, featuring tall trees like rimu, and kahikatea.  Rakiura is home to numerous native species, including brown kiwis (Tokoeka),

yellow-eyed penguins (Hoiho), and the rare kākāpō .