Tourism operators within the southern wilderness region of Fiordland have introduced new tours, cruises and travel options as they work around a scheduled maintenance closure to the line accessing Milford Sound – one among New Zealand’s most advantageous tourist destinations.
Covering five per cent of recent Zealand’s total land mass, Fiordland World Heritage National Park is a global tourism icon – a treasured place recognised for significant natural features and exceptional beauty that tells a unprecedented evolutionary story – and a must-see at the travel bucket list of many down-under visitors.
Geographical marvels include Milford Sound, Mitre Peak and Doubtful Sound – and epic Middle-earth landscapes featured within the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. The region is famed for multi-day walks, wilderness cruises, rare and unique land and marine wildlife.
Walking – for people with time and talent – is a well-liked technique to experience the remote, sparsely populated region on one among three multi-day walks including the famed Milford Track. Air or water travel is a better and faster option for travellers with less time.
Fly-cruise-fly Milford
Milford Sound cruise companies are working with local operators to develop extra Milford air packages while the Milford road is closed for roughly two weeks to finish safety improvements.
The new packages will deliver visitors to Milford Sound in order that scheduled cruises and adventure activities can continue operating.
Real Journeys, which operates boats in both Milford and Doubtful Sounds, is significantly up-scaling Doubtful Sound operations to cater for more visitors and could continue to function a fly-cruise-fly Milford option.
The company has relocated one boat – the Milford Mariner – from Milford to Doubtful Sound, increasing on-board capacity to 400 visitors per day to assist cater for “a decent proportion of the full daily expected visitors to Milford” for this time of the year, Real Journeys chief executive Richard Lauder says.
“Doubtful Sound is an infinite and remote fiord that lots of our visitors rate as highly as Milford. The trip is greater than a ship cruise, it’s an experience – and it is a great chance for Doubtful Sound to polish because it should within the global tourism market,” Lauder said.
Cruise options include day trips and multi-day luxury and guided nature discovery voyages.
World-class Fiordland experiences
Fiordland National Park- an unlimited untouched expanse of glacier-created fiords, virgin forests, craggy mountains, deep valleys and alpine lakes – stretches inland from the Tasman Sea on New Zealand’s south western seabord.
Milford Sound is the one fiord with road access. The Milford road is a tourism experience in itself because it climbs from inland Te Anau via an awe-inspiring series of forested valleys and lakes into the mountains, ending with a dramatic descent into Milford.
Visitors can still take the line to its highest point on the Homer Tunnel where the street works begin. En route there are numerous highlights including the picturesque Mirror Lakes, the start of the Routeburn Track, Hollyford Valley nature walks and roadside encounters with New Zealand’s cheeky kea – a mountain parrot with a mischievous nature.
Destination Fiordland tourism marketing manager Kate Hebblethwaite says the line works won’t affect “a multitude of worldwide-class experiences” available inside the region.
Te Anau township
Te Anau – the little town at the eastern fringe of Fiordland – is the major gateway and headquarters for Fiordland National Park.
The township caters for all levels of the tourist market with luxury to backpacker accommodation and dining options, and the Fiordland Cinema has regular screenings of Ata Whenua Shadowland – a brief film that transports viewers on a cinematic adventure within the skies above the national park.
The Te Anau Wildlife Centre offers an insight into the lives of a few of the region’s more curious characters including the kea and the quirky blue takahe – a unprecedented flightless bird that was believed to be extinct until 60 years ago when it was rediscovered in a remote alpine valley inside the national park. Since then conservation efforts have seen the known population rise from only a handful to around 200 birds.
From town, visitors can prompt on a cruise across Lake Te Anau to view the breath-taking underground glow worm grottos or continue to the opposite side and directly to Lake Manapouri – a deep alpine lake with 33 small islands, bordered by sandy coves and local bush that sits below the majestic Cathedral Mountain range.
Beyond Lake Manapouri, Doubtful Sound is a grand wilderness destination – New Zealand’s second biggest fiord and a haven for rare birds and marine life akin to New Zealand fur seals and comical Fiordland crested penguins.
Fiordland has one of the crucial finest walking tracks on earth, from half-day strolls to multi-day treks, in addition to quite a lot of shorter or full-day adventures including jet boat trips, horse treks, quad bikes, farm tours, fishing and hunting expeditions.
Visitors may soar over mountain tops and experience a bird’s eye view of the Fiordland World Heritage National Park with a scenic flight by helicopter, fixed wing or float plane.