New Zealand: Fiordland

Fiordland on New Zealand's South Island is the nation’s largest national park, one of the biggest in the world. There are only three roads in the park and a scattering of trails, including the classic and Milford, Routeburn and Kepler. When people think of New Zealand, they picture Milford Sound, a deep fiord ten miles long with mountains rising three thousand feet on either side.

Instead of trying to replicate the classic shot of Milford, I hiked up the catchment basin into a rainforest, a riot of green that reminded me of the Hoh River rainforest in Olympic National Park in Washington State. However, instead of giant cedars I found a forest of tree ferns. I shot under an umbrella in the light rain with the trees backlit by soft overcast light.

Don't forget to check out my show, ART WOLFE'S TRAVELS TO THE EDGE, [1] on your local PBS channel to learn more about New Zealand's largest national park and my other worldly travels.