Fiordland National Park - South Island, New Zealand - 1000 Places to See Before You Die on Waymarking.com

Fiordland National Park covers 1.2 million hectares of mountain, lake, fiord and rainforest environments and is administered by the Department of Conservation. Human activity within Fiordland has been limited because of its challenging and wild landscapes.

Fiordland National Park is known around the world for its breathtaking collection of fiords which ironically are mostly named as sounds. Interestingly, both terms are correct. Fiord is a geological term for an ice-carved landscape that has been inundated by water (usually the sea), and a sound is a geographical term for a large ocean inlet. Cast your eye over a map of the South Island’s untamed western coastline and read out a roll call of names both in Maori and English - each with their own story to tell. In order to convey the sense of majesty that the landscape provides the entire area was named Fiordland.

New Zealand is one of only a few places on the planet where you can see the spectacular sight of glacial-carved fiords.

Milford Sound is probably the most famous of all of the fiords and the only one that can be accessed by road. It is approximately 16km from the head of the fiord to the open sea, where steep rock walls rise vertically upward from the ocean for hundreds of metres and waterfalls tumble hundreds of meters into the sea below, allowing cruise boats to maneuver beneath the falls.

Cruising Milford Sound is good opportunity to get close up views of this spectacular landscape. The boats travel 1½ to 2 hours, looking extremely insignificant against the grandeur of the iconic Mitre Peak and the walls of the fiord. Often, dolphins accompany your cruise up the sound and seals are a common sight as they bask on rocks.

The photos were taken from the boat ride and from a nearby lookout.

Sources: (visit link) and (visit link)

Name of Source Book: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: Revised 2nd Edition - July 2015 Page Location in Source Book: 673-74 Type of Waymark: Site, Experience Location of Coordinates: Milford Sound Cruises Terminal Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 105.00 (listed in local currency) List Available Hours, Dates, Season: Milford Boat Ride: 1:45 pm, 3:30 pm, May – Oct ; 2:45 pm, 4:30 pm, Dec – Apr // The admission cost above is also for the boat ride. Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   03/18/2024 hennes1389 visited it