Southern Alps

Caressed by clouds and cloaked by a deep sense of spirit, the mountains of the Southern Alps cut a spectacular silhouette against the sky as they ride across the South Island from the south-west north-by-north-eastwards.

These diamond-cut crags and peaks, the longest and highest mountains in New Zealand, stand sentinel for the volcanic lakes, ancient forests, greenstone rivers, blue-ice glaciers and wide alluvial valleys that make up an area of such outstanding natural beauty it encompasses no less than four national parks.

	Framed by mountains on all sides, Lake Wakatipu is a grand place for a steam boat cruise.
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The waka became the South Island and the legendary brothers the mountains: Rakiro, (Mount Dampier) Rakirua, (Mount Teichelmann) Rarakiroa, (Mount Tasman) and eldest brother, Aoraki, (Aoraki /Mount Cook) the highest peak at 3,754 metres (12,283 feet).

In such a place there are all kinds of seemingly magical happenings - from the arches of cloud that form in clear blue skies to the near-perfect gliding conditions in the lee of the mountains - particularly around the town of Omarama which has gained an international gliding reputation. Naturally, this area of geographic drama featured frequently in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

National Parks of the Southern Alps

It is not at all uncommon for visitors to involuntarily gasp when they first glimpse Aoraki Mount Cook. To the local Maori Aoraki represents the most sacred of ancestors, a link between the supernatural and natural world. You too will feel the awe the immense grandeur this mountain inspires.

Glaciers slip slowly over forty percent of the 70,696 hectare Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. This is a land of ice and rock and alpine flowers, part of Te Waipounamu, the South Westland World Heritage Area. Twizel is the nearest town and Aoraki Mount Cook village is a friendly place to stay.

One of our most scenic roads - and the famous Tranzalpine railway journey - runs from Christchurch to Greymouth, from one coast to another, through Arthur's Pass National Park in the heart of the Southern Alps. Gorges, wide rivers and scree slopes contrast with beech forest on the east side and rainforest on the west.

Arthur's Pass village has a Qualmark©-rated Visitor Centre with excellent displays and information, as do many of the Southern Alps villages. Look for the Qualmark logo wherever you are - it's your sign that accommodation, activities or transport have been independently assessed as safe and secure

The Te Wahipounamu South-West New Zealand World Heritage Area also encapsulates Westland Tai Poutini National Park half way down the South Island and Mount Aspiring National Park further south with its townships of Queenstown, Wanaka, Glenorchy and Te Anau near the border of the Fiordland National Park.

Lake Matheson's mirror like reflections make it a photographer's dream
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The peaks, valleys and natural jade, pounamu, (greenstone) rivers of Mount Aspiring Park span a vast area from the Humbolt Mountains in the south to the Haast River in the North. Sculpted by nature's fingers, the ancient glaciers, this park has an area, the Red Hills, so rich in magnesium that the few plants survive. The nearest town is Queenstown, dominated by Mount Aspiring, 'the Matterhorn of the South' where you can let loose your adventurous spirit with bungy diving, jet boating on the Dart River.

What to do

The Southern Alps area is a visual masterpiece of nature's beauty. So walking (tramping) is an absolute must to really be at one with the scenery. Mountaineers come from all over the world to the Southern Alps, but everyone can take scenic flights, ski trips, canoe or fish the rivers and tramp some of the most fulfilling walks, both guided and individual in the world - like the Diamond Lake Trail near Wanaka. To find out more about any aspect of your travel, contact local tourism offices and i-SITES.