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MapSpeciesParksDiving
  1. Home
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  3. New Zealand
  4. Fiordland
National ParkUNESCO World Heritage

Fiordland

South IslandDesignated in 195212,500 km²
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New Zealand's largest national park; it takes in Milford Sound, which Rudyard Kipling called the eighth wonder of the world

Area

12,500 km²

Protection category

IUCN II

Parque nacional —

Designated in

1952

Declared in 1952, it is New Zealand's largest national park and part of Te Wāhipounamu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Its glacial fiords, carved through successive ice ages over millions of years, include Milford Sound, which the writer Rudyard Kipling called the eighth wonder of the world after visiting in 1908. It takes some of the heaviest annual rainfall in New Zealand — over 6,000 mm in places — which feeds hundreds of temporary waterfalls that appear during and after each downpour, some of them vanishing altogether within hours of the rain stopping.

Location

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2 dive sites within 300 km are also shown.

Fiordland: 22 documented species

Mammals5Birds15Cartilaginous fish1

Flora and ecosystems

Ecosystems found in New Zealand, where Fiordland lies.

Temperate forestMarine / coastalTundra / polarWetland

Experiences in this park

Diving and snorkellingBirdwatching

Nearby dive sites

Where can I dive near here?

93 km away

176 km away

Wildlife you can see now

What is worth looking out for this month in New Zealand?

Now is a good time: Resident sperm whales in the Kaikoura Canyon (Year-round)

Similar parks

Which other parks are like this one?

Same country: New Zealand

Same country: New Zealand

Same country: New Zealand

Same country: New Zealand

Keep exploring

Based on what we already know about this park.

Comments

Share your experience visiting Fiordland, or a tip for other travellers.

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Region

South Island

Climate

Tropical, Temperate, Mountain

Best season

December to February

Plan your visit

Best season
December to February
Area
12,500 km²
More places in New ZealandSee location
Insecta1

Threatened:Southern Royal Albatross,Great White Shark,New Zealand Kaka,Kea,Southern Brown Kiwi,Great Spotted Kiwi,Weka,Hector's Dolphin,South Island Takahe

Endemic species of New Zealand:Kea,Hector's Dolphin,South Island Takahe

Black-browed AlbatrossLeast Concern

Black-browed Albatross

Thalassarche melanophris

Southern Royal AlbatrossVulnerable

Southern Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophora

Southern Right WhaleLeast Concern

Southern Right Whale

Eubalaena australis

Bottlenose DolphinLeast Concern

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Kelp GullLeast Concern

Kelp Gull

Larus dominicanus

Great White SharkVulnerable

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

New Zealand KakaEndangered

New Zealand Kaka

Nestor meridionalis

KeaEndangered

Kea

Nestor notabilis

Southern Brown KiwiVulnerable

Southern Brown Kiwi

Apteryx australis

Great Spotted KiwiVulnerable

Great Spotted Kiwi

Apteryx haastii

New Zealand Fur SealLeast Concern

New Zealand Fur Seal

Arctocephalus forsteri

Fiordland PenguinNear Threatened

Fiordland Penguin

Eudyptes pachyrhynchus

See all 22 species found here

New Zealand · South Island
what the IUCN categories mean
See on the interactive map→

Fiordland (Milford Sound)

Stewart Island (Foveaux Strait)

Sperm WhaleVulnerable

Sperm Whale

Physeter macrocephalus

UNESCO
National Park

Tongariro

New Zealand

Kākā (forest parrot) · blue duck (whio)

December to February

See park
National Park

Nelson Lakes

New Zealand

Kaka · mohua (yellowhead)

December to February

See park
National Park

Abel Tasman

New Zealand

New Zealand fur seal · kākā

December to February

See park
National Park

Paparoa

New Zealand

Westland petrel (endemic · nests only here)

December to February

See park
DivingFiordland (Milford Sound)93 km away
CountryNew Zealand
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World Heritage