Fiordland National Park is packed with awe-inspiring sights you can’t see anywhere else. While Norway and Iceland are both known for their fjords, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve reached New Zealand. Fiordland is a World Heritage Site and home to the magnificent Milford Sound (video below) an enormous fjord once described by Rudyard Kipling as “the 8th wonder of the world”.
The deeply indented west coast of Fiordland sports an incredible 215-kilometer span of coastline and adventurous pastimes include boating and kayaking to get up close and personal with these grandiose sights.
Running up from the fjords are the valleys and then mountains of the Southern Alps creating an incredible change in elevation resulting in many scenic views. Also home to one of the largest waterfalls in the world, The Sutherland Falls.
Not empty by any stretch of the imagination, these views are populated by a diverse menagerie of New Zealand wildlife. The coastline provides crystal clear views of both dolphins and seals undisturbed and in their natural habitat. While inland you will definitely catch a glimpse of the famous New Zealand kiwi as well as the more reclusive Kakapo, the only remaining flightless parrot in existence.
With roads a scarce commodity, hiking (or tramping as it’s known in New Zealand) is a sound method of exploring the inland areas to their greatest potential. Trails run from beginner way up to some of the most difficult pathways in the world following winding barely-visible tracks scrawled by the invasive red deer population that inhabits the area.
Hike on Milford Track, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. Photo by Mac Gaither on Unsplash
Much of Fiordland is covered in a dense canopy of Northofagus trees, forming a huge temperate rain forest that brings new temporary waterfalls to those daring cliffs during every storm. Some cliffs around Fiordland are so steep and climb to such heights that water running off the edge may never reach the ground instead scattering upon the wind and drifting into nothingness.
If you want to see the edge of the world its rocky flesh, and see untamed nature in all its beauty, you have only to travel to Fiordland National Park. You won’t ever forget it!
Video of Milford Sound and Fiordland, New Zealand