New Zealand National Parks

There are fourteen New Zealand National Parks listed here alphabetically and linked down the page to further information about each park. The image map shows you the location of all the National Parks and I have started adding descriptions that I will be expanding on and completing the missing bits over the next few days.

• Abel Tasman National Park
• Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
• Arthur's Pass National Park
• Egmont National Park
• Fiordland National Park
• Kahurangi National Park
• Mount Aspiring National Park
• Nelson Lakes National Park
• Paparoa National Park
• Rakiura National Park
• Te Urewera National Park
• Tongariro National Park
• Westland Tai Poutini National Park
• Whanganui National Park

Abel Tasman National Park

The Abel Tasman National Park opened in 1942 and out of all the New Zealand National Parks this is likely to be the most famous and recognized one. The reason for its fame being that the Abel Tasman Park has earned a reputation for having fantastically beautiful beaches with stretches of golden sand, original and natural estuaries, and an abundance of geological features in rocky outcrops.

The Abel Tasman National Park is known for a mild climate with popular beaches and some great weather during the long daylight hours of the New Zealand summer months. There is an abundance of wildlife to be seen in the Park and some of the many New Zealand birds and animals you may see when visiting this park include; dolphins, penguins and seals, Weka, Bellbirds, Pukekhoes, and Tui.

The Abel Tasman Coast Track, also famous for walks and tramping, is located in this South Island national park on the north shores, and is one of the New Zealand nine Great Walks. Kayaking is another popular activity across the Abel Tasman.

Read more about Abel Tasman National Park

Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park

The Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is in the Central South Island, it is very unique with permanent snow fields and around forty percent of the park has glaciers winding their way through the harsh alpine landscape. At 27 kilometres long the Tasman Glacier is the biggest New Zealand glacier and located in this park along with the highest peak in the country... Aoraki/Mount Cook. Along with Aoraki/Mount Cook there are another 23 mountain peaks that are over 3000 metres high.

Although it may sound as if this National Park is not very accessible, alongside the activities that should only be undertaken by experienced mountaineers there are plenty of opportunities for the less experienced to enjoy this environment. Soak up the unique flora and fauna on short walks and/or multi day tours through herb fields and/or take scenic flights to glaciers by helicopter, plane, or hot air balloon.

More about Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park including activities and accommodation options.

Arthur's Pass National Park

Arthur's Pass National Park was the first National Park in the South Island and was established in 1929. The Park is located between the South Island West Coast and Canterbury with extraordinary mountains, precipitous gorges, and wide magnificent rivers, it encompasses the width of the Southern Alps (Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) and is an important crossing.

Arthur's Pass that gives access through from Westland through to Canterbury is another of the routes through the Southern Alps that were used as all important trade routes by the Māori, and it was the Māori who informed early explorers of this way to get through the Alps.

Both the railway and the highway that run through the middle of this Park are historic. The road was completed in the year of 1865 by men who worked throughout the winter using basic tools such as picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows. Because of the gold rush there was a need to build this road as fast as possible to get a route through from the West Coast where the gold was found through to Christchurch. However, as the weather is unpredictable, this road is often closed and is therefore not an easy road. I have had to take an alternative route when the weather turned as I wanted to cross the Pass. It was lucky that I had left a couple of extra days to get back to Christchurch otherwise I would have missed my flight home!

The variety of flora ranges from the lush podocarp rainforest and flowering rātā on the west side of the Southern Alps to the drier East of the South Island. As you ascend Arthur's Pass and get beyond the height of the bushline, you can find varied plant life including alpine meadows and snow tussock. For those interested in bird watching, there is a full list on the DOC website.

There are plenty of tracks and walks to choose from in Arthurs Pass National Park, from short walks to half day, from full day to overnight tracks. Other activities include mountaineering and mountain biking.

More about Arthur's Pass National Park

Egmont National Park

Within the 33,534 hectare Egmont National Park, Mt Taranaki volcano (Mt Egmont) stands towering over the surrounding landscape along with the two extinct volcanic peaks, Pouakai and Kaitake. The Mt Taranaki volcano is not considered to be extinct but in volcanologist terminology is considered ‘dormant’. It is around 120,000 years old with its last eruption being in 1775.

The Egmont National Park was the second national park to be established in New Zealand after the nearby Tongariro National Park. Egmont National Park is located on the North Island west coast with the closest settlements being New Plymouth, Stratford, Opunake, and Inglewood.

Read more about Egmont National Park

Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park, South West New Zealand World Heritage Area/ Te Wahipounamu ‘The Place of Greenstone’, was listed as a United Nations World Heritage site in 1990. Greenstone (jade) is a natural treasure and mineral resource of the South Island of New Zealand. Without doubt this is one of the most dramatic places on earth that you can visit. The Park is a scenic wilderness and not all accessible by any means of transport. Much of the fauna and flora is unique and won't be found anywhere else.

One of the most popular activities on offer to tourists in the Fiordland National Park is a ferry cruise on Milford Sound. Whatever the weather you will find this trip to be spectacular! If you have taken the trip before during nice and calm weather you should certainly try it while it is raining so you can experience the thousands of waterfalls that only appear around Milford Sound on wet days. I have only been there during heavy rain and gales, wow, what an unforgettable experience!

There are plenty of tracks in the Park that you can walk, actually more than five hundred kilometers of hiking available, the best known tracks that you may have heard of before are the Milford Track, Kepler Track, and Routeburn Track. Along with these famous Great Walks there are lots more but be aware that there are some that need to be guided by local operators to maintain safety.

More about Fiordland National Park... including activities and accommodation tips.

Kahurangi National Park

The second largest at 452,002 hectares and one of the newest national parks in New Zealand, created in 1996, is Kahurangi National Park. The location of this Park is in the northwest of the South Island and if you are looking for settlements with accommodation the nearest would be Murchison, Tapawera, Takaka, Karamea, and Motueka.

The Kahurangi National Park has a mixture of terrain and landscapes that include coast, forests, and herb fields at higher levels, and rivers that can be described as unpredictable. With such a range in landscapes there are many different activities and things to see in this the Kahurangi National Park such as rare flora, fauna, and geological features, while exploring wild and often untracked areas of New Zealand. The Heaphy Track is in the Kahurangi and is one of the Great Walks.

Apart from the native bird species such as the Tui, South Island Robin, and Bellbirds, you may also get to see giant carnivorous snails eating huge worms at night... and if you go caving there is the rare Kahurangi Cave Spider with long legs, I'll leave it up to you to find out how long those legs are!

More about... Kahurangi National Park along with activities and nearest accommodation.

Mount Aspiring National Park

The Mount Aspiring National Park is also part of Te Wahipounamu / Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area. Established as one of the New Zealand National Parks in 1964 and named after one of the highest peaks in New Zealand, is a paradise for those who love river valleys and alpine lakes, glaciers, and mountains. Although the park may have been mapped and named by Europeans, this is a region that Maori would have passed through to get to the pounamu fields before long before any mapping of geographical features took place. As in many other regions of the islands, you will see evidence dotted around of where settlers have also tried their hand at mining and farming.

Outdoor activities are not exclusive to but include; mountaineering, skiing, tramping/hiking long and short tracks, jet boating, with an abundance of rivers, forests, lakes, mountains, and wilderness to choose from.

Read more about the Mount Aspiring National Park

Nelson Lakes National Park

Located in the northern region of the South Island, the one hundred thousand hectares Nelson Lakes National Park is slightly more south than both Kahurangi National Park and Abel Tasman National Park and sits just below Kahurangi on the map. This National Park was established in 1956 and offers protection to the range of mountain terrain, forests, streams, and lakes at the northern end of the Southern Alps. To get to Nelson Lakes you would aim for St Arnaud and it takes around one to two hours of driving from the settlements of Nelson and Blenheim to travel to St Arnaud.

Some of the activities available in Nelson Lakes National Park include; lots of different walks and hiking tracks to choose from, snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding, climbing and mountaineering, mountain bike trails, and the lakes themselves are excellent water sports and trout fishing. Although Lake Rotoroa is not permitted for water-skiing and is the location of the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project, Lake Rotoiti does permit you to take part in this water sport.

Paparoa National Park

Paparoa National Park is situated towards the northern end of the West Coast of the South Island in between the settlements of Greymouth and Westport.

This National Park was established in 1987 and encompasses a coastline that includes the famous Pancake Rocks with blow holes at Dolomite Point near Punakaiki. Along with the natural attractions of this Park are underground streams, caves, limestone canyons, forest along the coast, and of course the spectacular and unusual limestone cliffs.

Activities include plenty of walks and hiking tracks, caving, canoeing, and just taking in the spectacular scenery at a your leisure while passing through the park.

Rakiura National Park

Rakiura National Park encompasses pretty much most of Stewart Island, the southernmost point of New Zealand, and is an area of over one hundred and fifty thousand hectares. Only fifteen per cent of Stewart Island, otherwise known as Rakiura, is outside of the National Park!

This amazing Island is just thirty kilometres off the south coast and as well as the scenic natural beauty of the landscape with forest, beaches, and coastline to explore, the wildlife includes Kiwi, Weka, penguins, and seals, among other New Zealand bird species.

You can take cruises and scenic flights to and around Stewart Island, and activities while in the Rakiura National Park include; approximately 245 kilometres of hiking tracks ranging from short walks to tramping tracks for the experienced hikers in you that need a certain level of fitness requirement to complete.

This Nationbal Park is the location of Rakiura Track which is one of the New Zealand 'Great Walks'.

Te Urewera National Park

Te Urewera National Park is in the North Island between Hawke’s Bay and the Bay of Plenty with nearest settlements being Wairoa, Whakatane, and Murupara. This Park was established in 1954 and includes natural attractions such; valleys, ridges, and unique geological features, along with Lake Waikaremoana and Lake Waikareiti, with the Lake Waikaremoana Track 'Great Walk' being part of the Te Urewera National Park. This large lake formed 2200 years ago when a narrow gorged part of the Waikaretaheke River became blocked by a landslide.

It is the lakes that are partly responsible for making this Park famous, with its remoteness protecting some of the unique native wildlife of New Zealand, particularly a full range of the countries forest bird species that only excludes Weka.

Lake Waikaremoana Track is one of the Great Walks

Tongariro National Park

For mountain scenery in the North Island the Tongariro National Park was the fourth national park in the world and the first of the New Zealand National Parks to be established. The dual World Heritage Site status was awarded due to the Maori cultural significance and associations, the unique landscape, and active volcanoes. One hundred years before this award the park was a gift to the nation in 1887 from the Maori chief Te Heuheu Tukino.

The three mountains dominating the park are Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, with the latter two being among the most active volcanoes worldwide. Not that their active status puts off national and international visitors to the park from participating in the many activities in the area, the most famous being the ‘Tongariro Alpine Crossing’. As well as the Alpine Crossing, Tongariro Northern Circuit, there are many short walks to suit any fitness level. If you book a walk or hike with a guide you will also learn about the cultural history of the area along with a wealth of information about the flora and fauna of the area.

Westland Tai Poutini National Park

The main attractions for many visitors to the Westland Tai Poutini National Park are the two glaciers, Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier. Both these glaciers move quite fast and up to speeds of 4 metres a day and can be incredibly noisy as they grind and force their way down through the rocks. The west coast of the South Island landscape ranges from lowland rainforests meeting the Tasman Sea, to many peaks that reach heights of over three thousand metres. It certainly is a wild place and one of my favourites.

There are snow fields feeding the glaciers and the lowland waters of the west coast are a New Zealand bird watchers heaven and visits can include sightings of the rare and endangered White Heron/kotuku, Southern Crested Grebe/kamana, and Okarito Brown Kiwi/rowi.

There are many walks to choose from in this park, including short ones that take you to the end of the two popular glacier visits. Longer walks take you further inland and can be guided, or alternatively take one of the popular helicopter rides to do your sightseeing.

Whanganui National Park

The Whanganui National Park was set up in 1986, is in the southwest of the North Island, and is in an area with a wealth of history and culture to explore.

The history of this region is unique and of particular importance to the experience of the Whanganui National Park is the Māori culture where the River enabled communication and trade between tribes at distances as far reaching as the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Taupo, and Waikato regions. When you visit areas of New Zealand such as this it is important that you get as much out of the visit as possible and learning about Māori culture and history will give you a far richer and more memorable experience.

The 45 kilometre Whanganui Journey is named as one of the New Zealand Great Walks and its route through from mountains to the Tasman Sea can be experienced by kayak! To do this journey by kayak from Taumarunui to Pipiriki usually takes five days but if you want a shorter option there is a three day version that runs between Whakahoro and Pipiriki. More about the Whanganui Journey…

Apart from the kayaking the Whanganui River you can experience various other river trips and there are numerous choices of hiking and tramping tracks that take you through New Zealand forests and bush.

Read more about the Whanganui Journey

Related Links

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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