Fiordland, fiords, forest and a sense of scale

DOC calls Fiordland New Zealand's largest national park. Glaciers have covered the area at times over the last 2 million years, carving U-shaped valleys that are now lakes or fiords. Hundreds of lakes dot the park, among them Lake Hauroko, the deepest in New Zealand at 462 m, and fourteen fiords run from Milford Sound in the north to Preservation Inlet in the south. The park was officially constituted in 1952, covers over 1.2 million hectares, and was declared a World Heritage Area in 1986. Fiordland's official visitor guide says the park is part of the wider Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage site.

Milford Sound is the only one of the fourteen fiords you can reach by road, says Fiordland's official visitor site. Doubtful Sound has no direct road: DOC says the easiest way in is a boat from Manapouri across the lake to West Arm, then a coach over Wilmot Pass. The official site says both are day trips from Te Anau or Manapouri and very long day trips from Queenstown, so allow an additional 4 hours. In our view, choose Milford for one day from Queenstown and Doubtful if you can stay in Te Anau.

DOC says weather in Fiordland is highly changeable: cold temperatures, snow, strong winds and heavy rain can come at any time of year, and it can be sunny too. Its Kepler Track page gives up to 9,000 mm of rain a year for the park, and DOC says avalanches usually occur from May to November. Check the forecast and road status before you set out, especially in winter.

Three of New Zealand's Great Walks are in Fiordland: the Kepler, Milford and Routeburn tracks. DOC says Quintin McKinnon and Donald Sutherland opened up the Milford Track in 1889 and began guiding tourists along it. The Kepler Track is a 60 km loop of 3 to 4 days, and its Great Walks season runs from 27 October 2026 to 30 April 2027, when huts and campsites must be booked.

Ten marine reserves border the park. DOC says rain creates a permanent freshwater layer on the fiords, stained the colour of weak tea, which keeps most marine life in the top 40 metres, and the fiords hold about 7 million black coral colonies, some up to 200 years old. Fiordland's official site says Fiordland crested penguins can be seen in Doubtful Sound, Milford Sound and the other fiords, best from July to November.