Fjords, mountains and wildlife of New Zealand's South Island (Te Wai Pounamu)

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• published: 22 Apr 2009
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Time for you all to take a break from looking at pretty people from New Zealand, and instead have a look at some pretty places in New Zealand. Here are some fjords and mountains in New Zealand's South Island, along with some of the wildlife there. The South Island is known in Maori as Te Wai Pounamu (the waters of greenstone) or Te Waka a Māui (the canoe of Māui.) This footage is from the Fjordland National Park on the island's rugged western coastline, on the opposite side of the island from the city of Christchurch where Joe lives. Fjordland is the largest national park in the Te Wāhipounamu World Heritage site. The Southern Alps that form a large part of this National Park were given their name by Captain Cook on March 23, 1770. Parts of this area were used in the filming of New Zealand director Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). This was originally a documentary, so the scenery is interrupted by shots of thoughtful-looking conservationists doing thoughtful conservationist things. This includes footage of the Kiwi bird, an endangered species of flightless bird that is the national symbol of New Zealand.