Dusky Sound
Image: James Mortimer

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Introduction

Visit some fascinating historic sites, and go walking or kayaking.

New Zealand’s fiords are found along this southwest coast of the South Island. Fiords are not simply a water feature or a land feature but are a special combination of both, where the sea partly fills steep-sided valleys once excavated by glaciers. Fiords are a majestic reminder of the powerful forces that sculpted our land around 20,000 years ago.

Fiords are named 'sounds'

Most of the fiords in New Zealand are named as ‘sounds’, for example Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Tamatea/Dusky Sound. ‘Sound’ is a general, non-technical term which is used in various ways in different parts of the world for more-or-less narrow branches of the sea. 

Find things to do and places to stay Southern fiords area

Contacts

Te Rua-o-te-moko / Fiordland National Park Visitor Centre
Phone:   +64 3 249 7924
Fax:   +64 4 471 1117
Email:   fiordlandvc@doc.govt.nz
Address:   Fiordland National Park
Visitor Centre
Lakefront Drive
Te Anau 9600
Postal Address:   PO Box 29
Te Anau 9640
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