HOME GROWN FIORDLAND

SOME OF THE MOST WILD AND DRAMATIC SCENERY IN NEW ZEALAND CAN BE FOUND IN FIORDLAND, TUCKED AWAY IN THE SOUTH WEST CORNER OF THE SOUTH ISLAND. FIORDLAND IS ONE OF THE LARGEST NATIONAL PARKS IN THE WORLD AND A WORLD HERITAGE AREA. HERE THE SIMPLE POWER OF NATURE IS SPECTACULAR, FROM ITS WATERFALLS TUMBLING HUNDREDS OF METRES INTO VIRGIN FORESTED VALLEYS OR POURING INTO THE DARK WATER OF THE SOUNDS. THERE ARE LONELY FIORDS, ENDLESS STRETCHES OF SHIMMERING LAKES AND MAJESTIC GRANITE PEAKS. FIORDLAND IS THE LARGEST NATIONAL PARK IN NEW ZEALAND WITH A STAGGERING 1,260,288 HECTARES OF THE BEST OF WHAT NEW ZEALAND HAS TO OFFER.

- Madeleine Peacock

In the late 1800’s the route between Piopiotahi Milford Sound and the head of Lake Te Anau was re-discovered by the two intrepid explorers Quintin McKinnon and Donald Sutherland. The trail was subsequently developed into what we now know as the Milford Track. It took only a matter of years for this walk to be hailed internationally as “The Finest Walk in the World”. Over 100 years on and the Milford Track still holds its own as an internationally recognized hiking trail.

Of course, for hundreds of years before then the route was known to Maori as a pathway for transporting takiwai, a unique form of pounamu greenstone from Piopiotahi Milford Sound inland so it could be traded. Having walked this track several times and having been exposed to the elements and ailments you can experience I am in awe of the human spirit that took on the exploration of places such as Fiordland.

Fiordland was designated as a National Park in 1952. It covers about 12,000 square kilometres and is one of the largest National Parks in the world – larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined. Interestingly the adventures that beckon many to these northern hemisphere destinations can be found in Fiordland. There is something for every level of adventurer from those who aspire to scale big walls to those who have never set foot in the wild. Fiordland is as safe, accessible and comfortable as you want it to be.