Experience the fiord’s
The Fiordland National Park was given World Heritage status in the early ‘90’s and given the incredible beauty and remarkableness of the park it is not difficult to know why. Meeting the sea are 14 giant inlets called fiord’s, hence – Fiordland, that were once glaciers, but over thousands of years of exposure to the sea they’ve now been transformed into valleys.
Further east, away from the sea is the National park’s forests. Hundreds of walking tracks throughout the forest allows you to reach deep into the heart of the forest and high up to the mountain summits.
What to do
The park’s most celebrated walk – the Milford Track takes up to five days. The Kepler Track is on a loop; taking 4 days and the Routeburn taking only 3. While these receive most of the hype, many other walks provide a fascinating experience.
A few of the fiords can be travelled around on a sea kayak as a well some other lakes. Also in Fiordland, diving is popular, with the opportunity to possibly rub shoulders with penguins, dolphins and fur seals.
Every day of the year you can fly or take the bus to Milford sound for an Eco-cruise, this will allow you to see the harder to reach fiords. You can book these trips in the nearby towns of Te Anau and Manapouri.
Where to stay
There are over 50 huts in the park; the ones with better amenities can be stayed in on the Routeburn, Milford and Kepler tracks. There are also more minimalist huts on other tracks.
Outside of the park there are many kinds of accommodation at Te Anau and Manapouri. At Milford Sound there is a backpacker budget option.