Mount Aspiring National Park
Mount Aspiring National Park is a national park that lies in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island, in the headwaters of Lake Wanaka. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of South West New Zealand, or Te Wahipounamu, which includes Fiordland National Park (to the south), Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and Westland National Park (both to the north).
UnderstandEdit
Mount Aspiring National Park was established in 1964. It is named after the highest mountain in the park, Mount Aspiring/Tititea, which at 3,033 m (9,951 ft) is also the highest mountain in New Zealand outside Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.
In November 2013, contributors to the respected journal Science chose Te Wahipounamu as one of only 78 protected areas around the globe as the most critical for preventing the extinction of mammals, birds and amphibians.
Mount Aspiring National Park was home to the takahe and kakapo, now sadly both extinct in this area, but the rowi, the rarest species of kiwi, lingers on.
HistoryEdit
LandscapeEdit
Flora and faunaEdit
ClimateEdit
Visitor informationEdit
- DOC website
- 1 Tititea / Mount Aspiring National Park Visitor Centre, 1 Ballantyne Road, Wanaka, ☏ +64 3 443 7660. 8AM–5PM.
Get inEdit
Fees and permitsEdit
Get aroundEdit
SeeEdit
- The Gates of Haast
- Waterfalls and temperate rainforest.
DoEdit
- Drive over the Haast Pass
- Climb Mount Aspiring or the other peaks in the area.
- Walk Rees-Dart Track.
- The northern parts of Routeburn Track passes through the park coming from Fiordland National Park.
BuyEdit
EatEdit
DrinkEdit
SleepEdit
LodgingEdit
Accommodation is available in the nearest settlements to the park: Haast, Makarora, Glenorchy and, with the most variety and abundance, Wanaka.
CampingEdit
BackcountryEdit
Stay safeEdit
This is about as remote as you can get in New Zealand, without getting off-road. Make sure your fuel tank is full and your vehicle in good working order.
Go nextEdit
The nearest settlements to the park are: