Introducing Fiordland & Southland
The bottom end of the South Island has some of the country’s most spectacular landscape. To the west is Fiordland National Park, with jagged misty peaks, glistening lakes and an air of forbidding remoteness. The park can be accessed via the world-famous Milford Track, one of the various trails that meander through dense forests and allow views of spectacular mountains and glacier-sculpted canyons. Fiordland is also home to Milford and Doubtful Sounds, with forested cliffs soaring almost vertically from the still, deep waters, and relatively easy to access by road, boat or kayak.
In Southland’s east, a sharp left turn off the beaten track, the peaceful Catlins are an area of bird-rich native forest, luxuriantly green farmland and rugged, windswept coasts. In addition to the forest birds the area is home to penguins, seals, sea lions, dolphins and the occasional whale. Wonderful accommodation abounds along wild beaches, in the midst of forests and in tiny waterside settlements.
Southland has the kind of New Zealand scenery that travellers dream of and postcards fail to capture. More than once, you’re likely to round a corner, stop in your tracks and just say ‘oh, wow’ before you reach for the camera.
Activities in Fiordland & Southland
Fiordland
Fiordland is NZ’s rawest wilderness area, a jagged, mountainous, forested zone sliced by numerous deeply recessed sounds (which are technically fiords) reaching inland like crooked fingers from the Tasman Sea.
Tours in Fiordland & Southland
Te Anau
Peaceful, lakeside Te Anau township is a good base for trekkers and visitors to Milford Sound, and an ideal place to recharge or get active in the surrounding landscapes.
Fiordland & Southland destination guides
Central Southland
Central Southland is the gateway to Stewart Island, and also a good jumping-off point for the Catlins and Fiordland.
Hotels in Fiordland & Southland
Budget Hotels & Hostels in Fiordland & Southland
Apartments in Fiordland & Southland
Invercargill
Flat and suburban, with endlessly treeless streets, Invercargill won’t enthrall you if you came here via the Catlins or Fiordland.
Need to know
Entertainment in Fiordland & Southland
Stewart Island
Due south of Invercargill, Stewart Island’s Maori name is Rakiura (Glowing Skies) – catch a glimpse of a spectacular blood-red sunset or the aurora australis and you’ll quickly know why.
Shopping in Fiordland & Southland