A Locals Perception

I haven’t been to the other seven places so I can’t say, but during my time in the tourist industry here in Fiordland, I have meet a lot of people who have travelled to some of these places, and to Milford Sound and would absolutely agree with him. What do I think? Well some folks may think I’m a bit biased and they would probably be right. If you have read the ‘about’ page in this site you may see why. But let me tell you about my Fiordland.

Milford Sound is only a very small part of the Fiordland National Park. It has in fact seventeen sounds and I wouldn’t like to put money on which is the best, they are all amazing. OK I will say one, my favourite is Bradshaw Sound, but maybe that’s because I once saw the most amazing and sensual dolphin encounter with a pair of in love dolphins (while diving) that I have ever seen. Sorry back to Fiordland.

Just lets stop here a moment and sort out something that confuses many people. Just what is a ‘sound’ and what is a ‘fiord’.

A sound is a river eroded valley. It is ‘v’ shaped and back filled with sea water as the sea levels rose. They are not very deep, about a 100m or so. The Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island of N.Z. are true sounds.

A fiord is a glacial carved valley and is ‘u’ shaped. They are also back filled with sea water and are generally very deep. Milford Sound is 300m deep and Doubtful Sound, the deepest in Fiordland at 430m deep.

Almost all of the Southern Lakes are carved by ancient glaciers and like the fiords are also ‘u’ shaped and very deep, around 400m or so.

Fiordland is a geographic region of New Zealand situated on the south-western corner of the South Island. Most of it is within the Fiordland National Park, an area of some 12,120sq.km, he largest in New Zealand and also one of the largest in the entire world. It is also classified with World Heritage Status.

The mountains of this spectacular region have been crafted by forces and time which the minds of us very short lived animals find hard to comprehend.

Fiordland has a long history starting some 500 million years ago. For the first 300 million years things were a bit slow with what was later to become Fiordland. There was a lot of folding, lifting, mixing and lowering, stuff going on but nothing like what was to come. Fiordland really started going for it about 65 million years ago and at this time it was again below sea level, but not for long.

The build up of various sand stones, mud stone and others was going on, still forming what we now see as the well known mountain, Mitre Peak and others. Then along came the Indo-Australian plate slamming into and sliding under the Pacific plate.

Fiordland was now being dramatically pushed up to form the high landmass that it became. It probably wasn’t much to look at in those days, something of a high plateau of rock.

But all that was to change with the last ice age creating enormous areas of ice finding its way down in any direction it could. This ice of course was the huge glaciers that carved out Fiordland into what it is today.

As I sit at home here in Te Anau writing this I look out my window and see no mountains move, and I don’t expect to. But they are moving, these mountains I am looking at are still being lifted and quite fast too, about the same speed that our nails grow.

However I believe the natural erosion that occurs in these mountains keeps them at the height they are, which is just as well as I really like the view I have from my lounge window.

Fiordland has changed a lot over the thousands of years of its creation to what it is today, a mountainous rain forest. It has some of the tallest ranking waterfalls in the world, the Sutherland Falls and the Lady Bowen Falls.

Fiordland has only two roads finding their way into its heart. One is of course the Milford and the other is the Wilmot Pass Road. The Wilmot Pass is not a public road as it’s on the western side of Lake Manapouri, but it does take people by bus into Doubtful Sound after a boat trip across the lake from Pearl Harbour close to the township of Manapouri.

The town of Te Anau, known as the gate way to Fiordland, is my home. It is placed on the eastern side of Lake Te Anau.

Fiordland, like a giant monolith rises out of the waters of Lake Te Anau on the western side. It has an immense presence, at times dark and foreboding but beautiful and always changing and like a mother, it draws you into its folds. And folds it has, deep valleys, huge snow capped mountains, deep and dark waters. It creates and controls our weather, it gives to you and it takes away.

Fiordland stands alone and is the structure of the southern end of the great divide, which runs north/south and is the back bone of the South Island.

Fiordland is a truly wild place that man has had little influence on over the years with the exception of some small areas like Milford Sound and an even smaller area of Doubtful Sound and again in Preservation Sound.

Yet even with all its wild nature it is also incredibly fragile. With its soft mosses, delicate ferns, very tiny birds, Fiordland has an enormous diversity of life.One would wonder how these plants and animals manage to survive with the huge and fast moving storms that sweep through the valleys and over the mountain tops. These weather systems can deliver seven to nine metres of rain on the western side of the mountains per year. The weather has a kind of levelling effect in that whatever people chose to do in Fiordland they will have to answer to the weather.

Fiordland and the Fiordland National Park are managed by the Department of Conservation. A huge body of like minded people, who put a lot of effort into maintaining the pure nature of this unique environment.

But so do the locals who make a living in Fiordland as it is see as their place, but also a place to share with the hundreds of people who come to visit each year.

Fiordland is not without its problems. Like many other areas in the world it has had its moments, like the introduction of pests, an error by our forefathers. These pests like the rat, stoat, deer, rabbit and many others have had devastating effects on much of the native bird life of Fiordland and the rest of New Zealand. I won’t go on about these problems as there has been plenty written on the subject. But if you would like to know what is being done about this, click here to learn more.

There is an endless list of activities one can do in Fiordland. Sea fishing, diving, tramping, climbing, cruises, boating, flights, sightseeing etc, all of which can be done privately, or for most tourists, with a commercial operator. Due to these various activities the township of Te Anau has grown and has consolidated its position as the gateway to Fiordland. The venison and fishing industries have also contributed to the growth of the town. A large number of its residents are reliant on Fiordlands existence.

Many people I meet have flown into the North Island as their first port of call then find that when they do get down to Fiordland and Southland they regrettably have to rush through this area and miss out on so many things they would like to see and do.

So if you are planning a trip to New Zealand and plan to come south, allow plenty of time for this end of the South Island.Make sure you stay in Te Anau or perhaps Manapouri, a small town 20 km south of Te Anau and also on the edge of another large lake, Lake Manapouri.

To finish, Fiordland still is what it always was, a silent presence, across the dark waters of Lake Te Anau. A wilderness so vast and remote that few people have ever been able to see much of it, an environment that probably still holds many surprises for scientists above and below water.I believe its raw wildness with its rich diversity is one of life’s great privileges to be a small part of.