Location Southland Region Area 5.14 km² | Population 0 | |
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Chalky Island is an island in the southwest of New Zealand, and is part of Fiordland National Park. It lies at the entrance to Chalky Inlet, at the southwestern tip of the South Island, 10 kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Puysegur Point, 15 kilometres (9 mi) southeast of West Cape, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of Invercargill. It covers an area of 514 hectares (1,270 acres).
Map of Chalky Island, Fiordland National Park 9691, New Zealand
The island was first charted by Captain James Cook in 1773, and was a base for sealers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
All predators were eradicated from the island by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, and it is now used as a bird sanctuary. Until 2005 it was one of only four refuges of the flightless native parrot, the kakapo. The Te Kakahu skink is endemic to the island. Dolphins, orcas, and southern right whales are sometimes seen in the bay.