South African batsman Gary Kirsten made his last Test innings a winning one as he helped skipper Graeme Smith lead his team to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the third Test in Wellington on Tuesday.

After three failures since a century and 34 not out in the drawn first Test in Hamilton, Kirsten compiled a spirited 76 to share in a 171 fourth wicket record stand with Smith, who went on to score an unbeaten 125.

The win gave South Africa a share of the three-match series.

Retiring after 101 Tests, Kirsten is the first player from his country to notch a century of caps and it was at the second Test in Auckland where he announced his intention of ending his career at the end of the tour.

Kirsten said he knew the final appearance was going to be an emotional occasion for him and the batsman shed a tear as he walked off just before lunch after being given out leg before wicket.

"With the stresses the team had been under we were really determined to get this one just to make the tour a little bit better and certainly from a personal point of view I would say it was pretty much the highlight of my Test career," he said.

Kirsten bows out having scored 7289 runs at an average of 45.27 with 21 centuries and 34 fifties.

Smith paid tribute to the 36-year-old who made his debut against Australia in Melbourne in 1993.

"It's fantastic to send Gazza off with a victory. He's given us so much as an individual and as a team mate," Smith said.

"He's given South African cricket an extreme amount of his time and he's passionate for the country to succeed.

"I'm sure he's going to be used somewhere because he still has a lot to offer.

"But from a cricketing point of view we are going to miss him and I'm glad we could give him something to smile about today."