Covering an area of ​​1260 hectares, Fiordland is the largest national park in New Zealand 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 the Milford Sound Fjord, Sutherland Falls, Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau.

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

Fiordland is one of the wettest regions of New Zealand - it rains 200 days a year. Huge masses of water, discolored after flowing through forests and many layers of rotten foliage, flow into the fiords. Then becoming yellow-brown in color, this water forms a layer above the sea water 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 species of plants and animals, which are thousands of years old, lived peacefully here. Long thought to be extinct, the takahe was rediscovered in Fiordland in 1948. The fjordland was also the last refuge of the flightless parrot, the kakapo, a species for which a separate program has been created to restore its population. ()

Takahe

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

Fifty takahe lived quietly. But since there was a threat in the form of gluttonous 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 put them under the bantam chickens.
The most assiduous hens were specially selected. They were trained like paratroopers. They chose one, but a misfortune happened, a box with a chicken and training eggs fell out of the car. Luckily, none of the eggs broke. When they opened the box, they saw a ruffled mother hen, which covered 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 at 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 crevices of rocks. At night, along the trodden paths, it goes out to feed on berries or plant sap (chews leaves and shoots without picking them). ()

Located at the southwestern tip of South Island national park Fiordland is the largest of the 14 national parks New Zealand. From snowy peaks and glistening fjords to icy lakes and valleys, the park reveals some of New Zealand's best and most famous landscapes.

During the past 2 million years, glaciers have covered this area from time to time, carving out many deep fjords. Fourteen fjords stretch up to 40 kilometers inland. The coast of Fiordland is steep and rocky, with fjords and numerous mountain ranges. At the northern end of the park, several peaks rise to a height of 2,000 meters. Mithra Peak is the most famous in the park - it is a 1,692-meter mountain that rises sharply from Milford Sound.


It is in Fiordland that the oldest rocks in New Zealand are located, consisting of solid metamorphic rocks. The area is located next to the Alps, where two plates of the earth's crust meet. They periodically curled up, collided, heaved and plunged many times.


Ice carved from the mainland of the island, as well as several big lakes within the boundaries of the park, including Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapuri, Lake Monowye and Lake Potiteri. Sutherland Falls, southwest of Milford Sound, is one of the highest waterfalls in the world.


The prevailing westerly winds carry damp air from the Tasman Sea to the mountains, cooling it as it rises. As a result, the park receives a colossal amount of precipitation that feeds temperate rain forests Fjordland. Fiordland was the territory of the local Maori people and is deeply reflected in their legends and traditions. According to their beliefs, the demigod Tuterakiuanoa carved a rugged landscape out of shapeless rock.


The first Europeans to visit Fjordland were explorer Captain James Cook and his team in 1773. They spent 5 weeks here, amounting to detailed maps and descriptions. It was these Cook's maps that later attracted the sealers and whaling ships that founded New Zealand's first European settlements.


From the middle of the 19th century, researchers began to study these places in detail. In the 1890s, gold was found in one of the caves, and the area experienced a short-lived gold boom. Early settlers Quintin McKinnon and Donald Sutherland opened the Milford Trail in 1889 and is now a world famous tourist route.


Fiordland National Park was officially established in 1952. Today it covers 1.2 million hectares (12,500 square kilometers). The park also includes the Te Wahipunamu World Heritage Site, listed by UNESCO in 1986.

The park is mostly planted with southern beech and red mountain beech, growing around the eastern lakes and in the valleys. Silver beech is also widespread. In wetter areas grow abundant shrubs, ferns, mosses and lichens. Alpine daisies, buttercups and other herbs can be found at altitudes above 100 meters. The national park is home to a vast population of wildlife, both native and imported. If you're lucky enough, you'll see the kakapo, the only wingless parrot in the world. The New Zealander is the national symbol of New Zealand, an exclusively local bird that lives only within the park.


Fiordland is also running a program to restore the population of the unique Takahe bird, which everyone thought disappeared without a trace. After the rediscovery of Takaha in the Murchison Mountains in 1948, a special area of ​​500 square kilometers has been placed in a national park for its conservation. Fiordland also includes 10 marine reserves with special unique species. I also advise you to enjoy

Arriving in the morning from Australia to New Zealand and settling into a hotel, we devoted our entire first day to exploring the city of Queenstown - New Zealand - the Land of Long White Clouds. Queenstown. Queenstown is sort of in the middle of the bottom third South Island New Zealand and from here it is very convenient to make sightseeing trips to different parts of this region.

And there is something to see here. The shores of the southern side of the island are very beautiful - they are indented by numerous bays, bays and fjords. There is interesting mountains and well-maintained trails with campsites and shelters to roam at your leisure. But all this takes time. And we have it to spare - only 12 days for both New Zealand islands.

Road to the fjord Richard picked us up early the next morning and we drove to Milford Sound Fjord, one of the main attractions of southern New Zealand.

The road from Queenstown to Milford is not close and is 286 kilometers. And even with good quality roads, it takes more than four hours one way. Interestingly, in a straight line (from A to B) there will be only fifty kilometers, but in these places all roads depend on the location of mountain valleys. So our road twists and turns in different directions, winding extra kilometers.

Having left Queenstown, the road climbed a small pass and the expanses of the South Island opened before us.

Further, it goes south, skirting the long appendix, extending from Lake Wakatipu, and finally breaks out into the expanses of a large plain, on which we saw the main wealth of New Zealand - millions of flocks of sheep.

Richard comments on the places that we pass and says that during the trip we will stop at several points of interest from a tourist point of view. The first will be the small town of Te Anau, then the small lake Mirror Lake, then the interesting geological formation Chazm and a one-way tunnel.

Arriving in the town of Te Anau, we cheered up from an early rise with a cup of coffee and walked along the embankment of the lake of the same name. Despite the early morning, there were many people in the town - who, like us, made a stop on the way to the Milford Sound fjord, and many came here to do hiking trails in the surrounding mountains. In a few days, walking along the mountain paths, you can also go to the coast and fjords. Te Anau is the last locality in front of the desert road to Milford Sound.

Near the cafe there is a monument to some strange blue bird-hen with a red beak and paws. It turned out that this is a statue of the Takahe bird, which was previously considered extinct. But, fortunately, some lucky ones found her alive and unharmed in the vicinity of this town.

At the exit from the town there are warnings about the need to refuel in both directions. Ahead - only mountains. We are entering the area national park Fiordland.

We make the next stop in a place with the loud name Mirror Lake - Mirror Lake. In fact, it is some kind of lake in a swamp. There are footbridges along the lake. There was no wind and there was a mirror under us. But only from water. It reflected the nearby mountains and sunken snags were clearly visible in the depths.

Walking along the shore, it seemed that now I would see Alyonushka, leaning over the water from a stone. But - alas. But, seeing the tourists, some fish swam too close to the surface of the water in the hope of a crust of bread, and all the fabulous specularity was broken ...

Then there was a stop at the interesting formation The Chasm. It is even difficult to define it - probably an underground waterfall. Waterfalls are generally difficult to photograph, but this one is especially so. Do not approach him. The peacefully flowing Cleddau River suddenly breaks under the bridge into a narrow slit-abyss and disappears into the darkness with a roar. As a result of its many thousands of years of activity, The Chasm carved a canyon of complex shape inside the rocks.

Having passed about a hundred meters along the bridges laid directly above it at a height of many meters, we come to a place where you can see how the water is already escaping from a rocky crevice. The well-known New Zealand researcher David Henry Thoreau said, describing this phenomenon: "no stone masters, using a diamond tool, can do what water, air and time did with their gentle touches."

Let's go further. The road begins to take up the mountain and goes past the sheer walls of the canyon. To the right, the river roars, to the left, from sheer walls and from crevices, waterfalls fall. Soon we arrive at a large mountain crater. Around steep walls with snow caps mountain peaks. Homer tunnel ahead. It has one lane and there is a line of cars in front of it, waiting for a signal to move.

The tunnel has a length of about 2 kilometers and is punched in a rock mass. The work in it has not yet been completed and it is uncomfortable to ride in it - water flows from the ceiling, there is no lighting inside, the asphalt is bumpy. For the most part, the road is sloping. The tunnel is closed for the night and is slowly being repaired.

Having passed through the tunnel, we were already in a different climate - in places there was snow, despite the fact that it was hot. The road down went faster and in half an hour we arrived at the small harbor of the Milford Sound fiord (44°40'S, 167°55'E). The departure of our three-deck handsome “Milford Sovereign” is in half an hour.

Fjord Cruise Milford Sound is one of 14 fiords located inside Fiordland national park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Conservation Area. Milford Sound - business card New Zealand. In the Maori language it is called Piopiotahi. This is a narrow bay of the Tasman Sea about 15 kilometers long with steep and steep banks up to 1200 meters high. Like most fjords, it is shallow at the mouth and deeper at the opposite end.

The fjord was formed during the last ice age, when a glacier, moving towards the sea, squeezed deep depression in rocky soil. About 10,000 years ago, the glacier retreated, and the Tasman Sea flooded the resulting basin. Among the mountain peaks surrounding the Milford Sound fiord, the most significant are Miter Peak (1692 m), Mount The Elephant (1517 m) and Lion Mountain (1302 m).

On the slopes of the mountains, rain forests grow, clinging to stones, and in the water you can often see fur seals, penguins and dolphins frolicking. The steepness of the slopes does not interfere with all kinds of plants, intertwining with each other, densely covering the rocks.

If we go ashore, we will find ourselves in the Mesozoic rainforest. Ferns and horsetails the height of a man, on huge trees - unprecedented fruits, and large lizards run underfoot. Oh, if only there were dinosaurs! And all these miracles are due to the amazing humid climate. On the one hand, it is provided by snow covering the mountains, and on the other, warm waters oceans that have been feeding the forest for millions of years.

These places are among the wettest on Earth. According to official data, there are 182 rainy days a year and during this time 6.813 mm of precipitation falls, which turn into streams of water that fall down in the form of waterfalls.

Only here, and even in Patagonia, where we were last year, the glaciers descend almost to sea level. There are virgin places and there are no traces of human activity. The banks are very steep and there are absolutely no places on them, not only for villages, but also for tents. And most importantly, there are no pastures for livestock. That is why the virgin primeval nature of these places has been preserved here. Episodes of the famous film "The Lord of the Rings" were also filmed in Milford Sound.

Finally, our ship slowly moves away from the pier and enters the waters of the fiord. Everyone immediately takes out photographic equipment to capture all the beauty that has opened up ahead. And, of course, yourself, your loved ones - “I was here”! Immediately after leaving the harbor, a powerful 160-meter-high Bowen Falls appeared on the right.

Ahead stretched the expanses of water of the fiord and the sharp peaks of the mountains. Tourist boats observed the same left-hand traffic as cars on the roads.

Not far from us were several more ships of other travel companies, but they were much smaller than ours, and they were mercilessly thrown on the waves. I don't envy their passengers. And we did not feel the pitching at all. In about an hour, the ship reached the exit to the Tasman Sea and turned in the opposite direction.

The mouth of the fiord is not very wide. This is probably why Captain Cook, sailing twice in these places, did not notice the entrance to this fiord. We were very lucky with the weather. Not a cloud in the sky, however, a very strong wind.

On the way back we go on the right side of the fiord. There are dozens of waterfalls here - from thin streams to wide streams. On one of the flat rocks protruding from the water is a rookery of fur seals. Calmly, not paying attention to anyone, they lie in the sun and slowly turn over, exposing the other sides to the sun.

Ahead, the great stream of Stirling Falls appeared shining in the sun, and the captain directs the ship directly to this watery radiance. Full delight from all who were on the bow of the ship! Cascades of stunning beauty fall from a height of 155 meters directly onto the deck, splashing the gaping ones with spray. Beauty and stunning!

Then the ship moves away from the waterfall, freeing this adrenaline-filled place for the next ship. It is impossible to describe the magnificence of this fiord in words. He is of unreal beauty. You can give 10 points. Somewhere, once, I read a test about female beauty: 9 points - you can hardly find a couple of minor flaws. 10 points - perfection itself. You can endlessly, without stopping and not getting tired, look at the object of adoration. It's the same with this fjord and these waterfalls.

And the old man Kipling was right, who visited these places at the end of the 19th century and called this fjord “the eighth wonder of the world”. It is visited annually by up to 1 million tourists. And this despite the fact that the entire population of the country is a little more than 4 million! What's up!?

The drive back to Queenstown was uneventful, apart from being caught in a "traffic jam" of thousands of sheep being herded down our only road. All the management of this huge herd was carried out by one shepherd and three dogs - the shepherd calmly walked along the side of the road, and the dogs drove the herd along the road, collecting and driving the lost along the way.

We spent our last evening in Queenstown on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, hand-feeding ducks and celebrating the birth of our Pavel's grandson. Tomorrow we leave the hospitable Queenstown and go to conquer the ice peaks of the Southern Alps - New Zealand. Long road to the glaciers of the Southern Alps.

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Fiordland National Park is an amazingly beautiful park with wildlife in New Zealand. It forms a large area of ​​untouched forest in combination with reservoirs and mountain ranges. Another very popular place at tourists. (12 photos)

amazing beautiful view Fiordland National Park

Fiordland Park is one of a kind. Looking at some of his photos, it immediately becomes clear how handsome he is. The mountain ranges are cut by the fjords of the Tasman Sea, all kinds of waterfalls, with crystal clear water, create an indescribable atmosphere of beauty.

First of all, favorable conditions for the park. An oceanic climate reigns here, with warm weather, while it is quite humid, without droughts and sudden temperature changes.

In 1952, the New Zealand government decided to protect such beauty from possible human encroachment. And a national park was created. Today Fiordland Park is on the list world heritage UNESCO.

The territory of the park is quite large, its area is 12,500 km². Another attraction of the park are its mountains. Their nature is such that they are protected from the destructive actions of the surrounding nature. Thus, we can observe the mountains that appeared here 2 million years ago. The height of the mountains in the park reaches 2746 meters above sea level. This is certainly not, but also quite high.

The nature of the park is unique in its combination. Only here you can see how very close to each other, there are tropical forest vines and mountain glaciers, on which penguins proudly flaunt. Tropical creepers are also combined with huge beech trees. By the way, the age of Buk is more than 800 years.

Also, the Fiordland National Park is rich in various lakes, which are characterized by crystal clear water. The steep waterfalls descending from the plateau are also mesmerizing. Rainfalls can sometimes be seen, but they are so small that the wind often blows them away before they even touch the ground.

Deserves special attention animal world parka. Here, in all its diversity, various types of animals are presented. Species of birds are especially valuable and unique. The park is home to a large number of birds. And, of course, the colorfulness that is inherent in the park. Here, a parrot and a penguin can fight for a place in the sun.

New Zealand makes good money from visiting tourists. Entrance to the park is paid. Also, everything here is done for the convenience of vacationers. For example, for a fee, you can admire the mountain plateau from a helicopter. Various types of escalator and boat trips are also provided. Needless to say, tourists are loved here and are always welcome to visit.

The largest National Park is Fiordland, located in the northwestern part of the island.

Nature and landscapes of the National Park

To save unique nature island nation, its richest flora and fauna, the government of New Zealand decided to create the Fiordland National Park. This event took place in 1952, and in 1986 "Fiordland" entered the UNESCO List of Protected Sites and is considered part of the World Heritage Site.

A trip to the Fiordland National Park is like a fairy tale. The nature of these places is generous with beauty and delights, you can often see absolutely incongruous things. For example, on the territory of the "Fiordland" there are tropical forests and snow-covered glaciers, exotic parrots and funny penguins side by side.

The Darran mountain range, which arose on the territory more than 450 million years ago, deserves special attention. His highest point the peak is considered to be at an altitude of 2746 kilometers. Darran has remained unchanged for many centuries, scientists attribute this to stability mountain range to erosion.

Fiordland National Park is famous for its fjords, which are divided into large and small. The most beautiful are considered to be Milford, Doubtful, George, Brexie, Dusky.

The indisputable decoration of the Park are the permanent waterfalls: Sterling, Lady Bowen, Sutherland. After the rains, a lot of small waterfalls form, but the wind blows them away, the water of many of them does not have time to touch the ground.

Flora of Fiordland Park

The flora of the Fiordland National Park is rich and diverse. This is facilitated by remoteness from civilization and man, a favorable climate.

Most of the territory of the Park is covered with evergreen forests formed by beech. Some of the trees are over 800 years old. In addition, here you can see laurels, peduncles, rosaceous, myrtle trees, creepers, shrubs, ferns, mosses, lichens.

The forest ends and the mountain steppe begins, in which aciphylla, olearia, chionochloa, fescue, celmisia, bluegrass, and buttercup grow.

The valleys of the Park are covered with numerous swamps, with characteristic vegetation.

park fauna

Even more impressive is the wildlife of the National Park, which is represented different types animals.

The most numerous family are birds, among which there are many endemics: southern kiwi, yellow-fronted jumping parrot, rock wren, shepherd-weca, crooked plover, shooter, yellow-headed mohua. Endangered species: kea, kahe, kakapo. The fjords are inhabited by penguins, albatrosses, petrels.

Marine giants living in the "Fiordland" can be called killer whales, sperm whales, humpback whales. Colonies of fur seals, lions, leopards, and elephants settled on the coast. In the bays you can watch bottlenose dolphins, dark dolphins, white-barreled dolphins.

There are over three thousand insects in the Fiordland park, fireflies and mushroom mosquitoes are very interesting.

The underwater world of the Park fascinates with its beauty. Fresh water is above the sea layer, so fish live near its surface. If you go on a boat trip, you may well see, and on occasion, touch some of the inhabitants of the local waters.

Rest in the Park

In addition to observing the beauties and inhabitants of the Park, tourists are offered a wide variety of recreation. If you wish, you can take a sightseeing flight over the "Fiordland", take a boat ride on one of the park's lakes, visit the research observatory located under water. Leisure represented by sea kayaking, scuba diving, cycling, car safari, fishing.

Helpful information

Fiordland National Park is open all year round. You can enter its territory for a fee. In the city of Te Anau, there is an administrative center that deals with all coordination issues. Also in the city there are many comfortable hotels and modern restaurants serving dishes national cuisine, car rental.

How to get to Fiordland?

The most convenient way to get to Fiordland in New Zealand is from the town. You can do this in a way convenient for you: by sea or by highway. The city has international Airport accepting flights from abroad. Neighboring Glenorchy is equipped with a small airport specializing in domestic passenger traffic.