Places to visit in Southland, New Zealand
13 places to visit in Southland, New Zealand, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, New Zealand Subantarctic Islands and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Southland volume.
4 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 1 Famous place to visit · 8 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Southland (4)
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Fiordland National Park
A vast national park in the south west corner of the South Island, covering 12,607 square kilometres and making it the largest in New Zealand. Deep glacier carved fiords such as Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound cut into its steep rainforest and mountains.
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Milford Sound / Piopiotahi
A fiord in Fiordland National Park, carved by glaciers and lined with cliffs rising over a kilometre from the water. Mitre Peak and the Lady Bowen and Stirling Falls make it one of the most photographed places in New Zealand.
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New Zealand Subantarctic Islands
Five groups of remote islands south of the South Island: the Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell Islands. They are uninhabited nature reserves and a World Heritage Site, home to huge colonies of albatross, penguins and sea lions.
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Te Wahipounamu
A World Heritage area covering about 2.6 million hectares in the south west of the South Island. It joins Fiordland, Aoraki Mount Cook, Westland Tai Poutini and Mount Aspiring national parks into one great stretch of glaciers, fiords and rainforest.
Famous places to visit in Southland (1)
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Stewart Island / Rakiura
The third largest island of New Zealand, lying 30 kilometres south of the South Island across Foveaux Strait. Most of it is Rakiura National Park, and it is one of the best places to see the kiwi in the wild and the southern lights.
Hidden gems in Southland (8)
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Curio Bay
A coastal bay in Southland best known for a petrified forest about 180 million years old, visible on the rock shelf at low tide. It is also home to a breeding colony of yellow eyed penguins, one of the rarest penguin species.
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Doubtful Sound / Patea
A fiord in Fiordland, about three times longer than Milford Sound and far quieter. Captain Cook named it Doubtful Harbour in 1770 because he doubted he could sail out again. It is reached by boat across Lake Manapouri and then by road over Wilmot Pass.
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Kepler Track
A 60 kilometre circular hiking track near the town of Te Anau, within Fiordland National Park. The route crosses rocky mountain tops, beech forest, glacial valleys and the shores of Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri.
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Lake Hauroko
The deepest lake in New Zealand at 462 metres, lying in a forested valley in Fiordland National Park. The lake, close to the south coast, is known to Maori as a place of burial for chiefs.
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Lake Te Anau
The second largest lake in New Zealand by surface area, at the gateway to Fiordland. Glowworm caves on the western shore can be visited by boat, and the lake is the start of the Kepler and Milford tracks.
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Mitre Peak
A sharp mountain that rises 1,692 metres straight out of Milford Sound, so named because its summit looks like a bishop's mitre. It is the most photographed peak in Fiordland, and was first climbed in 1911.
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Oban
The only town on Stewart Island, built around Halfmoon Bay and linked to Bluff by ferry. Its small harbour has a pub, shops and the Rakiura Museum, and walking tracks lead into the national park.
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Sutherland Falls
A waterfall in Fiordland above Lake Quill, measured at 580 metres and made up of three drops. It can be seen from the Milford Track, and Donald Sutherland, who found it in 1880, gave it its name.
Collecting in Southland
What are the best places to visit in Southland?
LOQAH lists 13 places in Southland. The best known include Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, New Zealand Subantarctic Islands, Te Wahipounamu and Stewart Island / Rakiura. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Southland?
13, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Southland?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Southland before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Southland and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in New Zealand
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LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 40 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.