Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World. The fiord is most commonly accessed via road by tour coach, with the road terminating at a small village also called Milford Sound.
Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" comes from a variant spelling of the Scandinavian word for this type of steep valley, "fjord". The area of Fiordland is dominated by, and very roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest National Park.
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is by far the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,607 square kilometres (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. It was established as a National Park in 1952.
Doubtful Sound / Patea is a fiord in Fiordland, in the far south west of New Zealand. It is located in the same region as the smaller but more famous and accessible Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. It took second place after Milford Sound as New Zealand's most famous tourism destination.
Rakituma / Preservation Inlet is the southernmost fiord in Fiordland National Park and lies on the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. With an area of 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi), it is the fourth largest fiord in New Zealand, after Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound / Patea, and the neighbouring Taiari / Chalky Inlet to the north. Rakituma was briefly the site of an attempted fishing and gold mining settlement at Cromarty during the 19th century, however this was quickly abandoned once the level of gold declined in relation to more promising fields elsewhere.
The Camelot River is a river of Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. It is formed from the confluence of the Elaine Stream and Cozette Burn and flows west into the Gaer Arm of Kaikiekie / Bradshaw Sound. The estuary is protected by the Kutu Parera Marine Reserve.
Hāwea / Bligh Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located in Fiordland, 30 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound, and is 15 kilometres in length. The fiord forms a crooked "Z" shape. Wild Natives River flows into the innermost arm, Bounty Haven.
Te Rā / Dagg Sound is a narrow fiord located in Fiordland, New Zealand. It lies south of Doubtful Sound / Patea and north of Te Puaitaha / Breaksea Sound. Whales frequent the waters out from the entrance of the fiord, close to the edge of the continental shelf where the water depth suddenly drops to thousands of metres.
Sutherland Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the smallest of the fiords that make up the coast of Fiordland, and the only one with limited sea access. It is the second most northerly of the fiords, 22 kilometres southwest of Milford Sound / Piopiotahi and eight kilometres northeast of Hāwea / Bligh Sound. The fiord is ten kilometres in length and the Light River and the Dark River flow into the eastern end. The fiord is composed of two main sections - a large bay opening into the sea, and a more traditional fiord as the inner section. These are separated by a narrow channel less than 100 metres (330 ft) wide at its narrowest point.
Thompson Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.
Taiporoporo / Charles Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.
Taitetimu / Caswell Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.
Te Houhou / George Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.
Hinenui / Nancy Sound is a fiord on the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.
Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost fiords in Fiordland, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand's South Island and part of Fiordland National Park. As with the neighbouring fiords of Tamatea / Dusky Sound to the north and Rakituma / Preservation Inlet to the south, Taiari / Chalky Inlet is a complex fiord with many channels and islands along its roughly 28 kilometres (17 mi) length. Most notably, this includes the sections Moana-whenua-pōuri / Edwardson Sound and Te Korowhakaunu / Kanáris Sound, which split at Divide Head in the middle of Taiari and each extend for roughly 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) inland in a V-shape.
Kahukura Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 464 hectares in Charles Sound, in Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 2005 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Kutu Parera Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 433 hectares at Gaer Arm in the Bradshaw Sound of Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 2005 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
Moana Uta Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering the entire length of Wet Jacket Arm in Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island, an area of 2,007 hectares. It was established in 2005 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
