Fiordland National Park

Established in 1952, the Fiordland National Park, South West New Zealand World Heritage Area/ Te Wahipounamu ‘The Place of Greenstone’, became listed a United Nations World Heritage site in 1990. Greenstone (jade) is a mineral resource of the South Island and one of the many natural treasures of New Zealand. You just can’t come away without a piece of Greenstone to remind you of your visit to NZ!

The definition of a fiord is a U shaped valley, carved out by glaciers, and followed by being flooded by the ocean. There are 14 fiords in this national park that were formed over a period of one hundred thousand years in the south west corner of the South Island. The fiords are surrounded by snow-capped peaks and thick forests of ancient trees.

It is without a doubt one of the most dramatic places to visit on earth, an incredibly wild and rugged wilderness, much of which is not accessible by transport other than your own two feet. Much of the fauna and flora of Fiordland National Park can be found no where else in the world, such as the Kakapo (flightless parrot) and more than seven hundred species of plants.

There are over five hundred kilometers of walking tracks to choose from in the park, the most famous probably being the Milford Track, Kepler Track, and Routeburn Track. However, there are many other, some of which need particular care but many with the offer of guided walks by local and knowledgeable guides.

A most popular activity to do is a ferry cruise on the Milford Sound, spectacular whatever the weather! On a rainy day thousands of waterfalls magically appear around the sound, on a still day the sound can be like a mirror. In my case, although it was heavy rain and gales during my visit, I was glad of the opportunity to see all the waterfalls and wild sea.

Activities in the Park

If you have been visiting other sections of this site you have no doubt already heard me mention the New Zealand ‘Great Walks’. Three of these popular walks are actually in the Fiordland National Park. Out of these the most famous one is the Milford Track. The Milford Track is a five day trek and as it is the most famous it is often quite crowded with trampers. The Routeburn Track takes around three days to complete and crosses into another of the New Zealand national parks, Mount Aspiring National Park. Then there is the circular route of the Kepler Track that takes around four days to complete.

As well as these three of the ‘Great Walks’ there are many other spectacular walks and hikes to explore in this national park, both short and long.

Other popular activities in Fiordland are kayaking and diving. You can use a sea kayak to explore some of the fiords and the Manapouri and Te Anau lakes, or go diving to see the underwater plants. There is also an abundance of New Zealand wildlife and birds to see such as penguins, fur seals, and dolphins.

When I visited Milford Sound I took the BBQ bus tour from Queenstown, via Te Anau, that stops halfway for the driver to cook up a BBQ. When we got to Milford Sound we took a scenic ferry cruise on the sound.

The weather was appalling, high winds and heavy rain. However, because the weather was so bad we got the opportunity to see the hundreds of waterfalls that appear around the sound in such weather that would otherwise not have been there to see!

Accommodation

There is a range of accommodation in and around the Fiordland National Park. The settlements of Manapouri and Te Anau are good places to look for your accommodation. Milford Sound has a backpackers’ lodge but is the only fiord that you can access by road transport.

If you are hiking one of the tracks there are over fifty huts provided by the Department of Conservation in the park. Basic huts are available on most of the tracks but the three ‘Great Walks’, Routeburn, Kepler, and Milford tracks, include Great Walks huts that have better facilities than the basic huts provided on the other tracks. Examples of the hut facilities are water supplies, toilet facilities, and mattresses.

Map of National Parks in New Zealand

This map gives an overview of where the National Parks in New Zealand are situated and the main section of this site at New Zealand National Parks provides complete listing of parks on both islands along with links to individual pages with the descriptions.

Related Links

New Zealand National Parks

New Zealand Great Walks

New Zealand Walks

New Zealand Birds

New Zealand Animals

New Zealand Travel

Backpacking New Zealand

New Zealand Adventure Travel

Walking Fitness Requirements

New Zealand Outdoor Safety Code

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