Fiordland occupies the wild southwest corner of the South Island, a vast expanse of mountain, rainforest, and deep glacial fiords that makes up one of New Zealand's most spectacular national parks. There are places here where no one has ever set foot — only flown over. The scale is extraordinary: over 1.2 million hectares of near-untouched wilderness, enough rain to keep everything perpetually green, and a coastline carved into fourteen major fiords.
Milford Sound is the most famous and most visited — towering cliffs, waterfalls, and dark water accessible by a stunning mountain road or by air. But Doubtful Sound, reached via a boat crossing of Lake Manapouri, is larger, quieter, and arguably more impressive. The Milford Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks, runs through the heart of the park. Te Anau, on the shores of the lake of the same name, is the gateway town and the place to organise trips, gear, and Department of Conservation hut bookings.
