Fiordland

ABOVE THE WATER

Fiordland is located in the south-western corner of New Zealand’s South Island. There are fourteen fiords in existence in Fiordland with ‘Doubtful Sound’ being the deepest of all New Zealand’s fiords, and ‘Milford Sound’ described by Rudyard Kipling as the Eighth Wonder of the World. Listed as a UN World Heritage listed site in 1990, Fiordland was given the name Te Wahipounamu, meaning ‘the place of greenstone’, after the region’s most treasured mineral source. Spanning an incredible 1.2 million hectares, the Fiordland National Park encompasses stunning waterfalls, ancient forests, snow capped mountains, lakes, and granite peaks that look the same now as they did over a thousand years ago. There are many walking tracks in Fiordland for those who love to be immersed in the nature of the land, helicopter or floatplane tours for those who love an aerial view, and a stunning underwater world for those who must explore beneath the water. Glow worm caves, jet boating, kayaking, cruises, hikes, and the a unique underwater observatory are just a few of the activities that Fiordland has to offer.

BELOW THE WATER

The Fiordland’s underwater environment is known as one of the most fascinating and unique in the world. These natural fiords are home to rare black coral, cray fish, fur seals, octopus, eels, stingrays, and over 150 species of fish. The uniqueness of this underwater world starts with the phenomenon known as ‘deep water emergence’. Due to the high volume of rainfall annually, combined with the narrow shape of the fiord, deep water emergence occurs and prevents light from penetrating past the fresh water, thus creating an environment similar to that of the deep ocean, but at a much shallower depth of water. This allows the unique black coral with a striking white appearance, to thrive in such shallow waters. Formed over millions of years of glacial activity, the fiords are also home to brachiopods, which seem to have not changed much in appearance since the dinosaur ages!