Covering an area of ​​1260 hectares, Fiordland Park is New Zealand's largest national park and is located in the southwest of the South Island. This vast area is home to some of the country's most scenic landmarks, including Milford Sound, Sutherland Falls, Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau.

In 1990, Fiordland was included in the UN World Heritage List and was named Te Wahipounamu - "the place of jade", due to the largest jade deposits in the area.

Fiordland is one of the wettest regions of New Zealand - it rains here 200 days a year. Huge masses of water, discolored after flowing through forests and many layers of rotten foliage, flow into the fiords. This water then acquires a yellow-brown color and forms a layer above the seawater that fills the fjords, and thus only greenish light penetrates the surface.

The hilly terrain, isolation and humid climate created a natural habitat where many plant and animal species dating back thousands of years existed peacefully here. The takahe bird, thought to be long extinct, was rediscovered in Fiordland in 1948. Fiordland was also the last refuge of the flightless parrot, the kakapo, a species for which a separate program was created to restore its population. ()

Takahe

They were hunted by local Maori tribes for their plumage. By the time Europeans arrived on the islands, it was believed that the birds had been completely destroyed.
Only in 1948, an amateur naturalist from a small New Zealand town, Jeffrey Orbell, after almost a year of systematic searches in the area of ​​Lake Te Anau, discovered a small colony of birds.
The birds were photographed, banded and released. The New Zealand government decided to declare this area a nature reserve.

Fifty takahes lived peacefully. But since there was a threat in the form of voracious weasels and possums, a nursery was created as a safety net.
The nursery was built on Mount Bruce, one hundred and thirty kilometers from Wellington. It was decided to get takahe eggs and place them under the bantam chickens.
The most diligent hens were specially selected. They trained them like paratroopers. We chose one, but misfortune happened: a box with a chicken and training eggs fell out of the car. However, I was lucky - not a single egg broke. When they opened the box, they saw a ruffled hen covering the eggs with her body.
The operation began successfully, two chicks hatched in due time, from which the revival of Tahake began.
Rare takahe birds can be seen in their natural habitat, Lake Te Anau.

Kakapo

This is a representative of the genus of owl parrots or, as they are also called, kakapo. The number of these birds barely reaches 125 individuals, which makes them the rarest birds on the planet.

The only parrot that leads a twilight and nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, it hides in burrows or rock crevices. At night, it comes out along well-trodden paths to feed on berries or plant juice (chews leaves and shoots without tearing them off). ()

Fiordland National Park is located in New Zealand. This is one of the largest national parks on our planet, its area exceeds 12,500 square kilometers. The park was created back in 1952 to preserve the incredible beauty of the southwestern part of the South Island of New Zealand. And in 1990 he became one of the World Heritage UNESCO.

National Park Fiordland is an amazing place with picturesque landscapes and unique flora and fauna. The flow of tourists here is so large that the government has to limit their number. Walking excursions are organized here for numerous guests of the country and local residents. It is noteworthy that in the territory of this huge park you will not meet animals that could pose a danger to your life.

The western part of the park is decorated with fjords - long bays with steep rocky shores. Located in the east beautiful lakes, among which the famous Lake Manapouri is the most deep lake on the territory of New Zealand.

All these beauties are diluted mountain ranges, the height of which reaches 2746 meters here. The western slopes of these mountains are among the wettest places on our planet. It rains here 200 days a year, but the precipitation falls very evenly.

Climate in the area national park Fiordland is sharply oceanic, the temperature difference is small, air temperatures range from 5 to 23 degrees. The coldest month of the year is July, and the hottest month is January.

Such weather conditions contribute to the prosperous existence of tropical rainforests on the slopes of the mountains, these forests are considered the most ancient on our planet, and the water level in the fjords remains unchanged, they reach about 40 meters in depth, the water in them is fresh.

Flora and fauna of the national park

The Fiordland National Park is home to rare species of plants and animals. Here you can find a rare species of wood - silvery nothofagus, whose age can reach 800 years. Numerous swamps in the park have unique vegetation.

The population of forest birds in the national park is the highest in New Zealand. Rare species such as the kakapo and takahe parrots are found here. In addition, the park is home to such bird species as the southern kiwi, yellow-fronted jumping parrot, crooked plover, shooter, blue duck, rock wren, and weca rail. A huge number of seabirds have chosen the rocky shores of the fjords. In addition, New Zealand fur seals and thick-billed penguins live in the fjords.

The reservoirs of Fiordland National Park are famous for their diversity of plants and animals; subtropical sponges, mollusks and corals live here. It is worth noting that the largest colony of black corals on the planet found refuge here.

Among other things, the national park is home to approximately three thousand different species of insects, a tenth of which are found only here. In Fiordland you can also find representatives of flora and fauna brought from other continents, for example, rats or elk deer.

Glaciers of Fiordland

The bays in the west of the national park were cut by glaciers a long time ago. Once a huge glacier covered the entire territory of what is now Fiordland, but now this unique corner planet you can see what is left of it. However, the view is simply stunning.

Lakes of the national park

Between mountain peaks There are a huge number of lakes in the park. Lake Wakatipu stands out against their background, the length of which is 80 kilometers! People call it “the heart of the South Island”; there are many legends about this lake.

Fiordland waterfalls

After heavy rains, in the territory of the largest national park in New Zealand, you can see an incredibly beautiful sight - streams of water begin to flow down steep slopes, forming many waterfalls. Small streams never reach the surface of the earth, falling down, and on the way they are blown by the wind.

However, there are two permanent waterfalls in the park - Bowen Falls, which reaches a height of 162 meters and Stirling Falls, which reaches a height of 155 meters. They both add to the already spectacular scenery of Fiordland National Park.

Covering an area of ​​1260 hectares, Fiordland Park is New Zealand's largest national park and is located in the southwest of the South Island. This vast area is home to some of the country's most scenic landmarks, including Milford Sound, Sutherland Falls, Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau.

In 1990, Fiordland was included in the UN World Heritage List and was named Te Wahipounamu - "the place of jade", due to the largest jade deposits in the area.

Fiordland is one of the wettest regions of New Zealand - it rains here 200 days a year. Huge masses of water, discolored after flowing through forests and many layers of rotten foliage, flow into the fiords. This water then acquires a yellow-brown color and forms a layer above the seawater that fills the fjords, and thus only greenish light penetrates the surface.

The hilly terrain, isolation and humid climate created a natural habitat where many plant and animal species dating back thousands of years existed peacefully here. The takahe bird, thought to be long extinct, was rediscovered in Fiordland in 1948. Fiordland was also the last refuge of the flightless parrot, the kakapo, a species for which a separate program was created to restore its population. ()

Takahe

They were hunted by local Maori tribes for their plumage. By the time Europeans arrived on the islands, it was believed that the birds had been completely destroyed.
Only in 1948, an amateur naturalist from a small New Zealand town, Jeffrey Orbell, after almost a year of systematic searches in the area of ​​Lake Te Anau, discovered a small colony of birds.
The birds were photographed, banded and released. The New Zealand government decided to declare this area a nature reserve.

Fifty takahes lived peacefully. But since there was a threat in the form of voracious weasels and possums, a nursery was created as a safety net.
The nursery was built on Mount Bruce, one hundred and thirty kilometers from Wellington. It was decided to get takahe eggs and place them under the bantam chickens.
The most diligent hens were specially selected. They trained them like paratroopers. We chose one, but misfortune happened: a box with a chicken and training eggs fell out of the car. However, I was lucky - not a single egg broke. When they opened the box, they saw a ruffled hen covering the eggs with her body.
The operation began successfully, two chicks hatched in due time, from which the revival of Tahake began.
Rare takahe birds can be seen in their natural habitat, Lake Te Anau.

Kakapo

This is a representative of the genus of owl parrots or, as they are also called, kakapo. The number of these birds barely reaches 125 individuals, which makes them the rarest birds on the planet.

The only parrot that leads a twilight and nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, it hides in burrows or rock crevices. At night, it comes out along well-trodden paths to feed on berries or plant juice (chews leaves and shoots without tearing them off). ()

The Country of Fjords or Fiordland has long been the name given to the territory located in the southwest of New Zealand. Fiordland National Park was created in this area in 1952. National Park), the largest in New Zealand. Its area is more than 12.5 thousand square kilometers. Here are such symbols of all of New Zealand as Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau, Sutherland Falls, Sound Fjord...

Enlarged map of Fiordland National Park. (Google maps)

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Fiordland National Park Google map maps

Fjord country is mostly mountains. They are a continuation of the Southern Alps and their height reaches 3000 meters. In the distant past, this territory was covered by a huge glacier, which melted and cut the slopes of this mountain range deep gorges, forming many picturesque fjords and long narrow lakes.
Mother Nature generously endowed New Zealand with beauty. And the best and picturesque landscapes New Zealand is concentrated here - in the Land of Fjords.

To everyone who comes to these lands for the first time, it seems that even today no human has set foot on this land. One of the features of the Fiordland coast is that the rocks that form the bays plunge sharply into the water and it seems that it is simply impossible to find places to land on the shore.
Another feature of these places is the surprisingly close proximity of forests to glaciers. You probably won’t find another place on earth where southern beech, laurel, myrtle... would coexist so closely with the snow-white crystal layer of ice.

There are also many unique mountain lakes Fjord countries. The local lakes are long and narrow. It seems as if the rocks, rising steeply above their water surface to a height of up to two kilometers, are still squeezing them on both sides. For example, Lake Waikatipu is the deepest and longest in Fiordland. From the northwest to the southeast of the island it stretches for almost 100 km, and its depth reaches 400 meters. As many as 25 rivers flow into Lake Waikatipu. These rivers have no name. On maps they are designated using serial numbers. Every five minutes the water in the lake rises and falls again by 7.5 cm. The lake seems to be breathing. Local ancient legend says that this giant's heart is hidden at the bottom of the lake. New Zealanders call the lake the “heart” of this island. Scientists today still have no explanation for this unique phenomenon nature.
The animals that inhabit Fiordland National Park are another unique feature of the park. Fiordland's forests are home to almost 700 species of endemic animals and plants. You will not find such exotic animals and plants anywhere except Fiordland National Park.
The forests of Fiordland are home to the large, unusually behaved kea predator parrot, the amazingly beautiful emerald parrot, the kakapo owl parrot, the singing birds tui and the yellow crow.

The number of kakapo owl parrots reaches only 125 individuals. Kakapo are the only species of parrot that are nocturnal and hide in their burrows during the day.
The population of the nearly extinct Takahe bird has recently begun to increase again. The takahe is a bird that cannot fly and is about the size of a goose. She has beautiful plumage and a bright red short thick beak.

On the roads you can see an interesting sign: a penguin enclosed in a red circle. In this way, road workers indicate the crossing points of the cute little penguins living in Fiordland.

Outwardly, they are similar to their polar relatives, but their lifestyle is very different from them. They place their nests several kilometers from the coast and every day they make walking to the sea, where they find food for themselves and their young.

Video from Kiwi. Kiwis are small wingless birds that can only be found in New Zealand.

In most of Fiordland there are simply no roads. Therefore, visiting tourists travel on foot to most of the remote places of the national park, using the services of guides.

It should be noted that these hiking are safe for the life and health of tourists, since there are no large predators or poisonous animals on the island.
For those unprepared for mountain trekking along the fjords, trips by boat are probably more suitable.

Such trips are no less interesting and allow you to fully enjoy all the unique landscapes and fantastic beauties of the Fjord Country.
The Fjord Country is a place where many natural wonders come together. A real wonderland!

In 1990, Fiordland National Park was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. And together with Westland, Mount Cook and Muant Aspiring National Parks they form the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.

Finally, a little video:

Helicopter flight over beautiful waterfalls, lakes and snow-capped mountain peaks around Milford Sound in New Zealand (northern part of Fiordland National Park).

The most beautiful, most beautiful place in New Zealand is Fiordland. A place that takes your breath away, that delights you more than any place in New Zealand. Fiordland literally translates as “land of fjords,” and the truth of this name is confirmed by the presence of more than thirty fjords in this reserve. Yes, yes, you read that right, Fiordland - national reserve New Zealand and, perhaps, the best of all 14 reserves.

Origin of Fiordland

Many thousands of years ago, there was a colossal glacier in this area. There were no magnificent fjords then, no steep mountain slopes overgrown with green trees, no long winding rivers. There was only a huge glacier. Years passed, centuries flew by, the temperature of the surrounding air rose, and the glacier began to slowly melt and sink down. As it descended, the glacier, with its incredible titanic mass, carved into the rocks on which it was located long and sometimes deep valleys, which, when filled with water, became in the future numerous fjords and winding rivers.

Features of Fiordland

One of interesting features Fiordland is that only here and nowhere else on the planet are wild green forests in extremely close proximity to ancient glaciers. This is a very strange and at the same time exciting and beautiful sight - a combination of lush green forests and dark blue thickness of glaciers. The most deep place Fiordland - Lake Wakatipu, its maximum depth is 420 meters.

Another feature of Fiordland is that only these forests are home to the rarest species of parrots on Earth - the kakapo owl parrot. This parrot eats worms and snails and lives in burrows in the ground. Besides him, there are also such unusual birds as the yellow crow (the best songbird living in the mountains), thuja and emerald parrot.

But the main feature is, of course, the majestic and beautiful fjords. Among all their diversity, the most famous and beautiful are Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. Each of them has its own admirers and admirers, and each of the fans proves that his fjord is the best. Isn't this an indicator that both fjords are the best?

Doubtful Sound - sunset

Mirror Lake in Milford Sound

How to get there

You can get to Milford Sound from Dunedin, both by land and sea. If you somehow find yourself near Lake Wakatipu, then a narrow road along a mountain gorge leads from it to Milfor Sound - Milford Road (State Highway 94). If you're not a fan of mountain crossings, you can take a boat ride along Milfor Sound, which sails from Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.