Fiordland
Within the unfenced boundaries of Fiordland, one of the largest national parks in the world, is some of the most wild and dramatic scenery in New Zealand. Fiordland is also one of 3 World Heritage Area’s in New Zealand.
It is the work of 500 million years of constant sculpting as the land has been relentlessly ground, split, fired, and pressured by the elements. Fiordland stretches over 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) in a remote section of the South Island and it is peppered with hundreds of lakes, craggy mountain peaks, deep fiords and rich rainforest.
World Heritage status is given to areas throughout the world that deserve special protection and recognition because of their unique characteristics. Fiordland was designated a World Heritage Area in 1986 because of its superlative natural features, exceptional beauty and its role in demonstrating the earth’s evolutionary history. Later, in 1990, Fiordland was linked with Mount Aspiring Westland and Aoraki/Mount Cook National Parks to form the expanded World Heritage Area of Te Wahipounamu/South West New Zealand.
The jewel in Fiordland’s crown is Milford Sound, its steep rock walls and cascading waterfalls a reminder that it was once a high mountain range that sank into the sea. Under the water surface is one of the rarest marine underwater worlds, home to 200-year-old black corals, sponges, lobsters, octopuses, sharks, and bottlenosed dolphins.
There are only three roads in the park, but it also contains three of the country’s great walks - the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler tracks.
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