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, roots exposed, can be seen extending for impressive distances along this beauteous island.
The other three Rabbit Islands are considerably smaller, none of them covering more than 10 hectares. 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