Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. A World Heritage Park.

fiordland

Fiordland National Park is one of the great wilderness areas of the Southern Hemisphere. Snow-capped mountains, rivers of ice, deep lakes, unbroken forests and tussock grasslands produce a landscape of immense scale and exceptional beauty.

Animals and plants, which were once found on the ancient super-continent of Gondwanaland still exist in Fiordland. It is one of the great National Parks of the world and famous for Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, the Milford Track, lakes Manapouri and Te Anau and so much more.

The Area of the park encompasses 3 million acres and occupys the whole of the South Island's westcoast region. The closest towns to Fiordland are Manapouri and Te Anau. Queenstown is 4hrs drive north of Milford Sound.

UNESCO granted Fiorldland National Park "World Heritage" status in 1990 in recognition of its unique diversity and essentially pristine condition.

Sounds or Fiords? The fiords were gouged out of mountain rock by glaciers during the last ice age, more than 15,000 years ago.

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.

Many of the early Europeans exploring the Fiordland Coast line were of English and Welsh extraction, they were not familiar with fiords, and so bestowed the names of Sounds onto these dramatic valleys.

Flora & Fauna: New Zealand's plants and animals have developed over 80 million years of isolation, over 700 plants are found only in Fiordland.

Takahe The rare flightless bird notornis Takahe was thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1948 in the Murchison Mountains near Lake Te Anau.

Kea: The only mountain parrots in the world, Kea are at home in Fiordland National Park and readily seen on trips to Milford.

Bellbirds and tuis have unforgettable songs. The tiny rifleman, nuthatch, native warblers and robins, delight birdwatchers and fantails never fail to amaze when they perch on an outstretched walking stick.

Sandflies: tiny insects, 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.