Kahurangi National Park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers 5,193 km2 (2,005 sq mi), ranging from the Buller River near Murchison in the south, to the base of Farewell Spit in Golden Bay in the north. The park has no single dominant landform, but includes an unusually wide variety of landscapes, including mountain ranges, rivers, gorges, raised peneplains and karst features such as caves and arches. Many of the landforms within the park are considered to be nationally or internationally significant.
View towards Mt Patriarch, Wangapeka Track
Dense grove of nīkau palms – Heaphy Track
Forest covered outcrop in Gouland Downs
Moria Gate arch in Ōpārara Basin, Kahurangi National Park
National parks of New Zealand
The national parks of New Zealand are protected natural areas administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). The first national parks established in the country were all focused on mountain scenery. Since the 1980s the focus has been on developing a more diverse representation of New Zealand landscapes. The parks are all culturally significant and many also contain historic features. Tongariro National Park is one of the World Heritage Sites that are of both cultural and natural significance, while four of the South Island national parks form Te Wahipounamu, another World Heritage Site. There are currently 13 national parks; a 14th, Te Urewera National Park, was disestablished in 2014.
DOC information board in Abel Tasman National Park
Mount Tongariro in winter, Tongariro National Park
Satellite photo of Egmont National Park (the forested area)
Tourist attraction Milford Sound, the most famous of the fiords in Fiordland National Park