Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in 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...

's main chain of islands. It lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the southeast of Bluff

Bluff, New Zealand

Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...

 and 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) northeast of Oban

Oban, New Zealand

Oban is the principal settlement on Stewart Island/Rakiura, the southernmost inhabited island of the New Zealand archipelago. Oban is located on Halfmoon Bay , on Paterson Inlet...

 on Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura

Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...

. The island covers an area of about 16 km² (6 sq mi). It guards the eastern end of 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...

. The island is uninhabited but formerly had a Māori population of 200.

The center of the island is flat with a height of 41 m (135 ft), and there are hummock

Hummock

A hummock is a boss or rounded knoll of ice rising above the general level of an ice-field, making sledge travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic region extremely difficult and unpleasant....

s on its north, south and west ends. The island is covered with stunted trees. North Head, the north end of Ruapuke Island, is a cliffy promontory rising to a hummock, 62 m (203 ft) high. Close to the westernmost, the island reaches 64 m (210 ft) in height.