Rabbit Island, New Zealand
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Rabbit Island is the name of four islands off the New Zealand coast.
The largest and best-known Rabbit Island lies across the southernmost part of Tasman Bay, at the top of New Zealand's South Island. The long narrow island runs east-west for eight kilometres, and covers 15 km².
It lies opposite the mouth of the Waimea River, seven kilometres to the west of Richmond.
It is a popular beach resort to the residents of Motueka, Wakefield, Brightwater, Richmond, Mapua, Stoke and Nelson itself. A medium-sized bridge spans a tidal area and joins the mainland to Rabbit Island itself. There is a large grassed area after this bridge and a Fire Hazard sign ("Keep it Green"). After this, the beach proper begins. Vast and mountainous sand dunes topped with masses of cone-bearing pines, with exposed roots, can be seen extending for impressive distances along the island.
The other three Rabbit Islands are smaller than 0.1 km². They are located:
- to the west of Kawau Island, north of Auckland;
- off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, near Slipper Island; and
- south of Riverton, in Foveaux Strait
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