National parks of New Zealand

Map of New Zealand with the national parks marked in green.

The national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the Department of Conservation^[1] "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public".^[2] They are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of overseas tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand.^[3] Although the national parks contain some of New Zealand's most beautiful scenery, the first few established were all focused on mountain scenery. Since the 1980s the focus has been on developing a more diverse representation of New Zealand landscapes.^[4] The parks are all culturally significant; many also contain historic features.^[5] Tongariro National Park, in particular, is one of 27 World Heritage Sites that is of both cultural and natural significance, while four of the South Island national parks form Te Wahipounamu, another World Heritage Site.

National Parks Act

The National Parks Act of 1980 was established in order to codify the purpose, governance and selection of national parks. It begins by establishing the definition of a national park:

The National Parks Act goes on to state that the public will have freedom of entry and access to the parks, though this is subject to restrictions to ensure the preservation of native plants and animals and the welfare of the parks in general. Access to specially protected areas (550 km²) constituted under the act is by permit only. Under the Act, national parks are to be maintained in their natural state as far as possible to retain their value as soil, water and forest conservation areas. Native plants and animals are to be preserved and introduced plants and animals removed if their presence interferes with the natural wildlife. Development in wilderness areas established under the act is restricted to foot tracks and huts used for wild animal control or scientific research.

Services available for public use

The Act allows the Department of Conservation to provide hostels, huts, camping grounds, ski tows and similar facilities, parking areas, roading and tracks within the parks. In addition to these, the department also provides some accommodation, transport and other services at entry points to the parks, but these are also offered by other government agencies, voluntary organisations and private firms. More comprehensive services within the parks, such as guided walks and skiing tutorials, are privately provided with concessions from the department.

List of national parks

Mount Tongariro in winter, Tongariro National Park.

Satellite photo of Egmont National Park (the forested area).

Totaranui beach, Abel Tasman National Park.

Tourist attraction Milford Sound, the most famous of the fiords in Fiordland National Park.

* – World Heritage Site or part thereof.

Proposed national park

The area centred on Waipoua Forest, north of Dargaville, has been proposed as a possible Kauri National Park. The area contains most of New Zealand's remaining kauri, including the largest known kauri, Tāne Mahuta. These stands of kauri are also valuable as havens for endangered species including the North Island Brown Kiwi.^[7] This proposal is currently being investigated by the Department of Conservation.^[8]

In response to a DoC proposal to upgrade the protection of Great Barrier Island (Aotea), Forest and Bird launched a campaign in 2014 to designate it as a National Park.^[9]

Mining concerns

In 2010 the New Zealand Government proposed removing some national park and conservation areas from Schedule 4 protection of the Crown Minerals Act which prohibits mining in those areas.^[1] In July the government abandoned the proposal after receiving a large number of submissions, most of which opposed mining.

See also

• Protected areas of New Zealand
• List of national parks for other national parks around the world.
• Regional parks of New Zealand
• Forest parks of New Zealand

References

External links

• National Park information at the Department of Conservation
• Kauri National Park proposal at the Department of Conservation

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