Fiordland National Park

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Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,607 square kilometres (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation.

Fiordland National Park is the most popular national park in New Zealand for international visitors. Well over half a million people visit the national park every year, however, the visitor numbers are almost exclusively concentrated in the park's north-eastern corridor from Te Anau to Milford Sound.

Most tourists are attracted to the easily accessible areas of the national park such as Milford Sound, where boat tours of the fiord and kayaking are the most popular activities.

Some boat tour packages include a visit to the Milford Discovery Centre & Underwater Observatory. Along the Milford Road from Te Anau there are also camping grounds and several short walks, some of which are even accessible by wheelchair. Popular stopping points along the road are at the Mirror Lakes, the Homer Pass area immediately to the east of the tunnel, and The Chasm.

Te Anau, situated on the shore of Lake Te Anau, is the closest town to the national park and provides many accommodation options as well as all the amenities expected of a small town. The only other settlement close to the park is the much smaller Manapouri.

Doubtful Sound also offers boat tours. These day-long tours depart from Manapouri and include return boat transfer across Lake Manapouri and bus transfer over Wilmot Pass to get to Doubtful Sound. From Te Anau, boat trips across the lake to the Te Ana-au Caves are available.

The steep granite peaks of the Darren Mountains are a popular area for mountain climbers. The park is also a renowned destination for rainbow trout and brown trout fly fishing.

Getting There

Main road access into Fiordland National Park is limited to the Milford Road (SH 94), which runs north from Te Anau, skirting the edge of the park before entering the park as the highway joins the valley of the Eglinton River just north of Te Anau Downs.

From there the road continues to the northwest corner of the park, reaching its terminus at Milford Sound, where there is a large car park, a wharf for the tour boats, and a visitor centre.

An unsealed side road in the upper Hollyford Valley leads to the start of the Hollyford Track.