Fjordland

Seals in Fjordland

In a few short years the thriving resident seal populations had almost been driven to extinction. One vessel alone reportedly returned to Tasmania with over 60,000 pelts in a few short months. Battered by westerly winds ripping off the Southern Ocean and fringed by a rugged volatile coastline this was a cold, wet and inhospitable place, the sealers left shortly after their catch had run dry.

New Zealand Nationalparks

In 1990 recognition of the outstanding value of the area was made by UNESCO with the formation of the South West New Zealand Heritage Park. This includes Fiordland, Mt Aspiring, Westland and Mt Cook National Parks. This area is 2.6 million hectares, 10% of New Zealand's land mass. There are over 500km's of walking track in Fiordland National Park and very few roads. The only sealed road leads to Milford Sound, one of New Zealand's most famous landmarks There are a number of short and full day walks easily accessible from the Milford Sound Road. One of the advantages of having a car is you can avoid the crowds. Most day trips from Queenstown depart around 7:30 am which means they leave Te Anau around 10 am-10:30 am. Most tour companies generally stop at attractions such as the Mirror Lakes and Lake Gunn on the way to the sound, they usually return directly. Cruises also depart Milford Sound in the morning, it's worth driving direct to Milford and taking the early cruise then stop and check out the attractions on the way home with out the 100 or so tour coach passengers. The drive from Te Anau direct to Milford Sound is 2 hours, extra care and time should be taken in winter

Links

Check out the following links:

• Get the Intimate Milford Sound Experience with Red Boat Cruises and get 10 % Disount

Did you know?

Fiordland has played an important part in the development of New Zealand's European history. It's deep sheltered Fiords providing refuge from the fury of the roaring forties, an abundance of seals, fish and seabirds provided easily obtainable sustenance, more importantly though, it's also where beer first came to New Zealand, after 11,000 miles and 117 days floating around the globe.