In New Zealand, nature is loved and protected! This can be seen in the many national parks which cover the North Island and the South Island, the protected areas which you find all over the place and the Environmental Care Code that you have to respect wherever you go.
New Zealand has 14 national parks and a few dozen protected areas, among which there are 19 forest parks and 3 marine parks. The very first was created in 1887, after the Maori Twuharetoa people gave three ancestral peaks over to the New Zealanders - Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. These three volcanoes then formed New Zealand's first national park on the North Island. As for protected areas, they alone take up 32% of New Zealand's land and 7.5% of the country's waters. Some excellent statistics all in all!
New Zealand is therefore a great example in terms of environmental control and conservation. Although there are known to be 90,000 endemic species here, it is thought that the country wants to protect every one of these natural wonders...
The Fiordland National Park is one of New Zealand's largest national parks. It is also the one where you can find the greatest diversity of landscapes: glaciers, mountains, fjords, forests, beaches, rivers, and all kinds of plant and animal species. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Firodland National Park is in the Wahipounamu area, in the south-west of the country.
To make the most of the park, go and speak to the Department of Conservation, who will tell you about all the walking trails, give you maps and documents on the species you will come across and the condition of the paths, and will book somewhere for you to stay if required. These are the perfect people to talk to if you want to go hiking in good conscience and make the most of an absolutely fantastic area of wild landscapes.
