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Fiordland National
Park
Encompasses
3 million acres and occupies the South
Island of
New Zealand's west coast region. "World
Heritage" status was
granted by UNESCO in 1990 in recognition
of the area's unique
diversity and essentially pristine
condition. Animals and plants
which were once found on the ancient
super-continent of
Gondwanaland
still exist in Fiordland.Landscape
The
landscape has been shaped by successive
glaciations into
fjiords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs,
vast lakes and waterfalls.
Two-thirds of the park is covered with
southern beech and
podocarps, some of which are over 800
years old. The Kea
the only alpine parrot in the world,
lives in the park, as does
the rare and endangered Takahe
a large flightless bird.
Attractions
Fiordland
National Park is one of the great
National Parks of
the world and famous for: Mitre Peak,
Milford Sound, Doubtful
Sound, Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau,
the Glowworm
Caves and many hiking trails - including
the Milford Track.
Scenic Journey
The drive
from Manapouri and Te Anau to Milford
Sound takes
you through one of the great wilderness
areas of the Southern
Hemisphere: snow-capped mountains, rivers
of ice, crystal
clear lakes, native forests, tussock
grasslands - all combine to
create a landscape of immense scale and
exceptional beauty.
Driving:
Te Anau / Manapouri to Milford Sound = 2
hrs 15 mins.
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