National park of Fiordland

The national park of Fiordland occupies the south-western corner of the island of the South of the New Zealand. It is largest of the fourteen national parks of the country with a surface of: 12500 km, and belonged to the area called Te Wāhipounamu, which is on the Liste of the world heritage of UNESCO. The park is governed by the Department off Conservation .

Geography

Thousands of years ago, the Glacier S created many Fjord S, of which most famous, more visited is the Milford Sound; among the other most known fjords one also finds Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound.

The coast of Fiordland is inclined with peak and notched, with fjords of the valleys of the southernmost chains of the the Alps of the South, of which the mounts Kepler and Murchison. In the septentrional section of the park several peaks exceed them: 2000 meters of altitude.

The ice also created islands, including two large uninhabited islands, Resolution and Secretary. Several big lakes are in whole or part in the park, in particular the lakes Te Anau, Manapouri, Monowai, Hauroko, and Poteriteri. The Falls Sutherland, in the south-west of the Milford Sound on Milford Track, are among the highest falls of the world.

The wind comes especially from the west, sweeping humid air of the Mer of Tasman. Meeting the mountains, this air cools and makes fall from great quantities of rain on the area (up to seven meters in several places of the park). The rain maintains the wet moderate forests.

Fauna and flora

Fauna there is varied and includes the Dauphin S, the Phoque S, the Souris, the Rat S, the Lièvre S and the stags. Among the birds one finds the Kakapo, the only parrot without the capacity to fly. One can also meet there the kiwi, endemic with the country.

Access

The access by the road is limited to the street Milford (HS 94), which goes to north since its departure to Te Anau and skirts the border of the park before entering there close to its HQ on the Rivière Eglinton. From there it crosses the north-western corner of the park, finishing in Milford Sound. To the Te Anau south, a smaller road binds it to Manapouri. Another small road connects Doubtful Sound to western bank of the lake Manapouri.

There are small companies offering of the services of flights in the helicopter or the light plane to Milford Sound; over there there exists also small a marina.

Activities

The park is popular with the hikers and mountaineers, who can take from it various ways, of which those of Milford, Kepler, Hollyford, and Routeburn. Other roads still go to Milford Sound, who is easily accessible in the car.

Around the years 1920 the park was invaded by the stags introduced since the Europe. The government of the time gave money to the hunters for each shot down stag, starting a rush on the animals and ends in brawls between the hunters. The latter started to use helicopters for better driving out in this difficult ground. The number of stags fell drastiquement and the government put a crushing argument at the fall by decreasing the number of authorized hunters and by reintroducing stags. The helicopters used formerly for hunting are used today to show to the tourists the park since the airs.

Random links: