Fiordland National Park
encompasses 1.3 million hectares/3 million acres
and occupys the whole of the South Island's
westcoast region. On the border of Fiordland are
the towns of Te Anau and Manapouri
Fiordland National Park's status
as a "World Heritage Area" was granted
in 1990 by UNESCO.
Fiordland is recognized for its unique diversity
and essentially pristine condition. Conservation
Management
Sounds
or Fiords? New
Zealand's fiords were gouged out of
mountain rock by glaciers during the last
ice age, more than 15,000 years ago.
Their great peculiarity is that they are
deeper at their inner shores than at the
sea outlets, where moraine matter was
deposited.
Early Europeans exploring
the Southern Coast line bestowed the
names of Sounds onto these dramatic
valleys, the mistake can be understood
when you realise that many of these early
sailors were of English and Welsh
extraction and were not familiar with
fiords.
A sound is a
river valley that has been flooded
due to the land sinking below sea
level, whereas fiords are
created by glacial action that
produces u-shaped valleys with steep
cliffs, also characterised by shallow
entrances that slope quickly seaward
to deep water.
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People:
Early Maori arrived about
1000 years ago, they hunted birds and seals and
gathered pounamu (New Zealand jade) to make tools
and precious items. In the early 1800's European
sealers and whalers took shelter in the fiords
and built small settlements. Milford Track
Flora &
Fauna: Over
700 plants are found only in Fiordland and it is
home to some of the strangest of New Zealand's
birds. The flightless Takahe
was thought to be extinct until it was
rediscovered in 1948.
New Zealand's plants and animals have
developed over 80 million years of isolation.
These islands of New Zealand are fragments from
the super continent Gondwanaland
Kakapo:
Fiordland is the final refuge
of the worlds only flightless parrot, the
nocturnal kakapo. A recovery project for
these birds is now under way on a number of pest
free offshore islands. Kakapo
Kea:
The only mountain parrots in
the world, kea are at home in Fiordland National
Park and readily seen on trips to Milford. The
beautiful song of bellbirds and tuis is
unforgettable and the inquisitive antics of
fantails never fail to amaze as they will perch
on an outstretched walking stick. Kea
Sandflies:
tiny insects, much like gnats or no-seeums. They
are mostly in the forests but are effectively
controlled with insect repellent. When you are
walking/active the sandflies don't bother you,
only when you are sitting still.
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