Fiordland and Southland

Fiordland comprises of the rugged, glaciated country and fiords in the south-west corner of the South Island. Southland is New Zealand's southern-most region, and includes New Zealand's third island, Stewart Island.

Te Anau is the gateway to the world-famous Fiordland National Park, a World Heritage Area that covers almost 1.2 million hectares. Fiordland represents nature on enormous scale, here waterfalls tumble hundreds of metres into pristine, forested valleys, and glacier-carved fiords indent its coastal boundaries.

Southland is a fertile place of green farmland and forest, laced with sparkling clean waters and friendly small towns. Here mountains loom on the western and northern horizon.
Southland's lush, green pastoral lands are among the richest in the country,

Southland offers some of the world’s best brown trout fishing, many beautiful gardens to visit, hidden waterfalls, rocky bays, native forests and river valleys. Or if you would like to get away for some peace and tranquility Stewart Island is the ultimate spot.

Go for a drive to Milford Sound, through the Fiordland National Park, it is considered one of the finest alpine drives in the world. You will be surrounded by mountain peaks and towering sheer granite cliffs from which spectacular waterfalls plunge to the sea below. This is the home of playful bottlenose dolphins, fur seals and gulls.

The Fiordland and Southland region is where you will feel at one with nature.

The South Island is cooler than the North Island by a few degrees. Winter in New Zealand is from June to August and summer is from December to February. There are regional variations: It is quite warm and pleasant up in the Northland region at any time of the year. Higher altitudes are always considerably cooler, and it is usually windy in Wellington, which catches the winds whistling through the Cook Straight.

Snow is mostly seen in the mountains, although there can be snowfalls, even at sea level, In the South Island, particularly in the extreme south. Some of the plains and higher plateaus also receive snow in winter, notably the Canterbury plains and the high plateau around the Tongariro National Park, especially on the east side. Snow is seldom seen near sea level on the West Coast of either and not at all in the far north.

An important thing you must know about the New Zealand climate is that it is a maritime climate, as opposed to the continental climate typical of larger land masses. This means the weather can change with amazing rapidity.