Sight · Fiordland National Park
Remote fiord, rare corals, and deep, restorative solitude
Overview
Long Sound / Te Awaroa is Fiordland’s southernmost major fiord, tucked inland from Preservation Inlet. It’s long, deep, and beautifully isolated—more so than the headline-grabbing fiords up north. Most of the waterway sits inside Te Tapuwae o Hua (Long Sound) Marine Reserve, the largest in Fiordland at 3,672 hectares, which is a big reason it feels so pristine.
Few places in Fiordland feel this undisturbed. The combination of a protected marine reserve, low visitation, and dramatic fjord scenery adds up to a rare sense of wilderness and quiet.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy It’s SpecialMap
Local know-how
Access is by private boat only—there are no roads or facilities.
Do not anchor at The Narrows; bring a high‑holding anchor and ~70 m of rode.
Carry strong insect repellent and fit mesh screens for sandflies.
Much of the area is a marine reserve—know the boundaries and rules before you go.
Stay clear of pest‑free islands to avoid accidental rodent introductions.
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Fiordland Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Fiordland National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Fiordland audio tour“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
A narrow entrance called The Narrows opens into a broad, sheltered basin, with steep, forested slopes plunging straight into the water. Under the surface is the real show: rock-wall communities and a thick freshwater “lid” that lets deepwater species survive unusually close to the surface. Expect rare red and stony corals, lampshells, tube worms, rock crabs, and shallow-water black coral. At The Narrows, look for the famed “strawberry fields”—dense congregations of strawberry holothurians (sea cucumbers). Seals, dolphins, and birdlife are part of the wider Fiordland picture, but this place is really about the marine world.
Like the rest of Fiordland, Long Sound was carved by glaciers into a steep‑sided, deep basin. The marine reserve was established in 2005, and the dual name reflects New Zealand’s bicultural heritage.
Wildlife
1,181 sightingsKeaMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
199 sightingsFiordland PenguinMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
228 sightingsBlue DuckMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
32 sightingsBottlenose DolphinMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
247 sightingsNew Zealand Fur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKākāMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Fiordland. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Parkwolf’s Fiordland ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
