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Fiordland National Park
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. |
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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.
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