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fiordland gives new zealand
its greatest environmental test: can this fragile, unique region
be the nation's biggest attraction and not become overwhelmed by the
pressures of tourism?
PHOTO CREDITS: TOURISM HOLDINGS-NZTourism (milford sound Sightseeing
boat); chris mclennan-NZTourism
(sea kayak);
destination taupo-NZTourism
(misty milford sound);
julian
apse-NZTourism (routeburn hikers at snowy key summit);
home at first (milford sound with red flowers/MacKinnon
pass milford track/milford sound with feathery reeds;
rob suisted-NZTourism (routeburn track hiker at falls); home at first
(milford track - sutherland falls).
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Pristine habitat where parrots meet
penguins.
Here famed walking
tracks venture to where
the ocean reaches into the Southern Alps.
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Attractions in
Fiordland:
Fiordland National Park protects one of the world's unique
habitats—where deep, clean fingers of the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean invade the 10,000 foot high
Southern Alps. This is a
land
of unexpected juxtaposition:
jungles, oceans, and snowcaps; penguins and parrots; environmental conservation and major
tourism. Most people come to Fiordland for one or both of the two Milfords: Milford Sound and
the Milford
Track. But many leave having discovered something else: the modern challenge
of eco-tourism—protecting the most fragile of environments while sharing its rich
treasures with the world.
Many visitors also
discover that parts of Fiordland are among the world's rainiest places,
and that Fiordland's swarms of sand-flies love tourists. But wet weather
and bug |
Mitre Peak, Milford
Sound, Fiordland's
and New Zealand'sgreatest attraction.
NZ
Tourism Photo |
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bites discourage few from
pressing on. Here's a
partial listing of local activities that keep travelers from around the
world making pilgrimages to the far southwestern corner of New Zealand's
South Island:
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Rte. 94 descending the
Cleddau
Valley to Milford Sound.
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EXPLORING FIORDLAND BY CAR/BUS:
For visitors,
all Fiordland roads ultimately lead to the
water's edge at
Milford Sound. Highway 94
travels north 60 miles from Te Anau town to
Milford Sound, paralleling Lake Te Anau,
passing the trailheads of the
Routeburn and
Hollyford Tracks before descending out of the
Darran Mountains via the rough-hewn Homer
Tunnel from alpine conditions to
sea-level at
Milford Sound.
NZ
Tourism Photo |
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EXPLORING FIORDLAND BY BOAT:
Visitors to
Milford Sound can join any of several cruise
boats for trips
onto the fjord lasting from an
hour to overnight. Day cruisers also sail
Lake
Te Anau: some take walkers to the trailhead
of the Milford Track.
An unusual cruise-bus-
cruise combination takes visitors across
Lake
Manapouri by boat, across the Wilmot
Pass by bus, then onto Doubtful
Sound for
day or overnight cruises. |
Hikers board boat on
Lake Te Anau for
90-minute cruise to Milford Track trailhead.
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Swing bridge on the
Routeburn Track.
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EXPLORING FIORDLAND ON FOOT:
Fiordland is the
regions where several of New Zealand's Great
Walks are
located. Four of these "tracks"
Milford,
Routeburn,
Hollyford,
and Keplerrequire
multiple days to be experienced in their
entirety.
However, guests with limited time,
energy, or funds can get a glimpse of
each of
these walks by taking day hikes: commercially
organized or on
their own. |
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EXPLORING FIORDLAND BY AIR:
Numerous
flight-seeing options enable visitors to see
the varied terrain
of Fiordland from the air
by helicopter or small, fixed wing aircraft.
Long-distance walkers of the Hollyford
Track have an option of flying
out from
Martin's Bay to Milford Sound. |
Cessna 180 awaiting
passengers from the
Hollyford Track at the Martin's Bay airstrip
cut out of the dense rain forest.
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Activities in Fiordland: Hiking the Milford,
Kepler, Routeburn, Greenstone, and Hollyford
Tracks. Cruising the region's great fiords: Milford, Doubtful and Dusky. Riding the Kingston Flyer, one of the last great
legacies of New Zealand's glorious national steam narrow-gauge rail system.
The Kingston Flyer takes on
water before
steaming from Kingston to Fairlight and back. |
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Lodgings: Top quality bed and breakfast lodgings in
Te Anau, the largest town and activity center for Fiordland. See sample lodging
here: Te
Anau Lodge.
Home At First's Te Anau
Lodge
provides comfortable lodgings
and a convenient location for
touring and activities in Fiordland. |
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Getting around Fiordland: Use of a rental car is essential here. Except for occasional
bottlenecks at the historic Homer Tunnel near Milford, roads in Fiordland are usually
lightly traveled.
Visitors to Fiordland may
meet the
mischievous kea alpine parrot at
parking points near the Homer Tunnel
and huts and other gathering points
along the great walks of Fiordland. |
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Getting to/from Fiordland:
Home At First guests arrive in Fiordland by
rental car, normally coming south and west from
Queenstown
in 2.5-3 hours. Most depart Te Anau for Queenstown, or further northeast to
Mt. Cook/Lake Tekapo in
5-6 scenic hours, or east 3-4.5 hours to
Dunedin.
Fiordland crested penguins
nest and breed in
caves and undergrowth where the rain forest
and the sea come together in Fiordland.
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Fiordland crested penguins.
Photo Gilbert van Reenen - NZ Tourism
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HOME AT FIRST IS
A DESIGNATED "KIWI SPECIALIST"
TOUR OPERATOR BY THE NEW ZEALAND TOURISM
BOARD.
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