| Lake Fergus | |
|---|---|
| Pupapa | |
 Lake Fergus in 2011 | |
 | |
  Lake Fergus | |
| Location | Fiordland National Park |
| Coordinates | 44°50′42″S168°6′40″E / 44.84500°S 168.11111°E |
| Etymology | named after Thomas Fergus |
| Primary outflows | Eglinton River West Branch |
| Max. length | 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 330 metres (1,080 ft) |
| Surface area | 53.4 hectares (132 acres) |
| Surface elevation | 483 metres (1,585 ft) |
Lake Fergus is a lake in the South Island of New Zealand, located in northeastern Fiordland National Park.
A small lake between Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound, it lies adjacent to the State Highway 94 (SH94; the Milford Sound Road). The lake is within the boundary of the Fiordland National Park, and is surrounded by native bush. The west branch of the Eglinton River flows through the lake, and it drains into Lake Gunn located south of it. [1]
The first Europeans to explore the valley were David McKellar and George Gunn in 1861, two runholders from Southland. [1] William H. Homer (after whom the Homer Tunnel is named) and George Barber explored the area in search of a route from Lake Wakatipu to Milford Sound in 1889, setting off from Glenorchy and travelling via the Greenstone Valley. They saw the lake on 4 January, named it after Thomas Fergus, the Member of Parliament for the Wakatipu electorate at the time, and left the following inscription in a log: [2] [3]
This lake was seen and named on January 4th, 1889, 'Lake Fergus', by W. H. Homer and G. Barber.
On this journey, the explorers found what they called the Homer Saddle on 27 January. Homer suggested that a tunnel through the saddle would provide access to the Milford area. [4] The Eglington Valley Road past Lake Fergus, now known as SH94, was completed in 1935, giving easy access to the lake for the first time. The Homer Tunnel opened to traffic in 1953, giving visitors reason to drive past Lake Fergus. [4]
Milford Sound 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 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 is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering 12,607 km2 (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wāhipounamu a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 1990. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park, combined with the deep glacier-carved valleys.
Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of 344 km2 (133 sq mi), making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand and the largest in the South Island. It is the second largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume. The main body of the lake runs north-south, and is 65 km in length. Three large fiords form arms to the lake on its western flank: North Fiord, Middle Fiord and South Fiord. These are the only inland fiords that New Zealand has, the other 14 are out on the coast. Several small islands lie in the entrance to Middle Fiord, which forks partway along its length into northwest and southwest arms. The surface of the lake is at an altitude of 210 m. It has a maximum depth of 425 m, so much of its bed lies below sea level, with the deepest part of the lake being 215 metres below sea level.
Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Māori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill and 171 kilometres to the southwest of Queenstown. Manapouri lies 21 kilometres to the south. Te Anau lies at the southern end of the Milford Road, 117 kilometres to the south of Milford Sound.
The Homer Tunnel is a 1.2 km long road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1953. New Zealand State Highway 94 passes through the tunnel, linking Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown, by piercing the Darran Mountains at the Homer Saddle. It connects between the valley of the Hollyford River to the east and that of the Cleddau to the west.
The Routeburn Track is a world-renowned, 32 km tramping (hiking) track found in the South Island of New Zealand. The track can be done in either direction, starting on the Queenstown side of the Southern Alps, at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu or on the Te Anau side, at the Divide, several kilometres from the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound.
The Eglinton River is located in the region of Southland in the southwest of New Zealand. It flows through Fiordland National Park for 50 kilometres (31 mi). Its headwaters are at Lake Gunn, 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of Milford Sound, and it flows generally south before entering Lake Te Anau along the lake's eastern shore opposite the entrance to North Fiord.
The Hollyford Track is a tramping track in New Zealand. Located at the northern edge of Fiordland, in the southwestern South Island, it is unusual among Fiordland's major tracks in that it is largely flat and accessible year-round. It follows the Hollyford River which in turn follows the course of the Hollyford Valley.
Lake Gunn is a lake in the South Island of New Zealand, located at 44°53′S168°05′E.
Transport in Milford Sound in New Zealand is characterised by the remoteness of the area in which it is located. As a popular tourism destination in the South Island, Milford Sound and the village of the same name receive very large numbers of visitors. These tend to arrive and depart within just a few hours each day, as there is little accommodation at the village, leading to strong demand peaks for tourism services during the noon and early afternoon period. The journey from Te Anau is rated as one of the most photographic drives of the world.
Hollyford Valley is a valley in Fiordland, New Zealand, in the southwest of the South Island. It is named for the Hollyford River, which runs north-north-west along its length from the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea. Beech forest dominates both the slopes and the bottom of the valley.
Thomas Fergus was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.
Lake Marian is an alpine lake at the southern end of the Darran Mountains in the Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The lake is located just above the treeline in a hanging valley leading northwest from the Hollyford Valley near The Divide pass. The valley is sheltered by steep snow-covered peaks of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) on all sides apart from the entrance.
State Highway 94 is a New Zealand state highway connecting the large Southland town of Gore with one of New Zealand's most popular destinations, Milford Sound. It also passes the significant townships of Lumsden and Te Anau as well going through the Homer Tunnel. The road also goes through Fiordland and crosses the Main Divide of the Southern Alps.
The Wilmot Pass is a 671 m (2,201 ft) high pass on the main divide of New Zealand's South Island. It connects Doubtful Sound, a deep indentation in the coast of Fiordland, to the valley of the West Arm of Lake Manapouri. The pass is named after E. H. Wilmot, a former surveyor-general of New Zealand, who had noted it while surveying the area in 1897. It lies between Mount Wilmot and Mount Mainwaring. On the east side the Spey River drains to Lake Manapouri and on the west side the Lyvia River drains to Deep Cove.
The Haast-Hollyford road or Haast-Hollyford Highway is a long-standing proposal to link Haast via the Hollyford Valley to Milford Sound and Te Anau in the South Island of New Zealand. Proposals for this road have been mooted since the 1880s.
The Humboldt Mountains or Humboldt Range are one of the many ranges which make up the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana in the South Island of New Zealand. They lie to the northwest of Lake Wakatipu in the Otago Region. Parts of the range lie within Fiordland National Park, and they form the southern extremity of Mount Aspiring National Park. The range was named by early explorer James McKerrow, and like many geographic features worldwide, it was named in honour of notable scientist Alexander von Humboldt.
Milford Sound is a small village located deep within Fiordland National Park in the Southland Region of New Zealand. It is located at the head of the fiord also called Milford Sound. The village and fiord are one of the most visited places in New Zealand, receiving about one million day visitors per year.
Taipari Roa Marine Reserve is a marine reserve covering an area of 613 hectares around Elizabeth Island, in the inner Doubtful Sound / Patea of Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island. It was established in 2005 and is administered by the Department of Conservation.
