The South Island of New Zealand is an area of picture postcard beauty, best known for its natural magnificence, and home to no less than ten national parks. These majestic wilderness areas incorporate World Heritage Sites, fiords and glaciers, lakes, ski areas, rugged coastline, native forest, and world-class hiking tracks.
The Southern Alps, an impressive mountain chain, runs down the South Island's spine. Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand at 3754m. Aoraki/Mount Cook, is dazzling, yet there are twenty seven other peaks in this alpine backbone which peak at over 3050m, and hundreds of others not far short of that.
Mountaineers come from all over the world to the Southern Alps, but everyone can take scenic flights, ski trips, canoe or fish the rivers and hike some of the most rewarding walks in the world.
One of New Zealand's most scenic roads - and also the famous TranzAlpine railway journey - runs from Christchurch to Greymouth on the West Coast, through Arthur's Pass National Park in the heart of the Southern Alps.
Several movies have been filmed in the South Island of New Zealand, including the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The South Island is a truly fascinating place to visit.