MAJESTIC MUSIC NZ ` the largest landmass above sea level of a vast continent that broke away from Gondwanaland. 23 million years after the landscape emerged from the ocean depths, it's still as diverse as it is unique. Remote corners of this world have seldom been seen. Isolated and rugged, unique plants and creatures have evolved that are found nowhere else on Earth. (CHIRPS) Since the arrival of human life, this wilderness and many species have been under threat ` some lost forever. MAJESTIC MUSIC CONTINUES But today almost a third of this dynamic country has been protected. 14 national parks have been established to preserve this diverse landscape and the multitude of life that live here. Gus Roxburgh is an environmental specialist and adventure guide. He's heading out to explore the country's wilderness and discover the often unseen back-country world of these national parks. 125 years after the first national park was created, he wants to capture a sense of what these ever-evolving conservation parks have become, through the people who work, play and preserve the wilderness that is our national parks. I think you'll find it's quite possibly the best backyard in the world. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013 SERENE MUSIC Fiordland ` a massive masterpiece. MUSIC CONTINUES 500 million years of constant sculpting ` relentlessly ground, split and pressured by the elements. MUSIC CONTINUES Maori call this place Atawhenua ` the Shadowland. MUSIC CONTINUES Demigod Tu-Te-Raki-Whanoa is said to have used his adze to carve the fjords from rock. MUSIC SWELLS Today scientists know that the adze that formed the fjords were made of ice. Ancient glaciers carved this towering and torturous landscape during the last major phase of glaciation, 20,000 years ago. MAJESTIC MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES Given conservation-park status in 1952, this is the biggest national park in NZ and one of the largest in the world. MAJESTIC MUSIC CONTINUES It spans almost 13,000km2 ` MUSIC CONTINUES ...5% of NZ's total land area. MUSIC CONTINUES A dense blanket of ancient rainforest hangs precariously from the steep-sided fjords. MUSIC CONTINUES With an international reputation as a pre-eminent World Heritage park, this sanctuary is one of the most dynamic in the world. MUSIC CONTINUES The immense granite barriers create an impenetrable wall, repelling everything that's thrown their way ` everything except the weather. DRAMATIC MUSIC This dynamic topography drives the extreme conditions. MUSIC CONTINUES Fiordland is one of the wettest locations in NZ. RAIN PATTERS 7m of rain annually ` WATER RUSHES ...over three times as much as the Amazon Basin. INTENSE MUSIC Rainwater that melds into torrents that burst down canyons, off the edge of sheer cliffs and plummets to the fjords below. REFLECTIVE MUSIC One of the most renowned is the Bowen Falls. WATER RUSHES Dave, you guys were in here yesterday. How much water was flowing down here? About half that, I reckon. So it's come up that much just with that bit of rain overnight? So it's come up that much just with that bit of rain overnight? Yeah. You'd call that drizzle here. BOTH LAUGH 'Dave Vass is a commercial canyon guide who thrives on getting up close 'to the challenging, unexplored ravines and countless waterfalls throughout the park.' Not a hostile environment, but a changeable one. Water's your big issue. The canyons are drainpipes, you know. And they're shedding a big, steep, clean sort of catchment. All... All the valleys around here are very steep-sided. There's hundreds of unexplored canyons that, you know... Incredible, natural arenas that no one's even seen. Yeah. Yeah. They don't even know they're there. It's pretty amazing that you can come to a place like this and still do something for the first time. 'Which is exactly what we're hoping to do today ` abseil the full 161m length of Bowen Falls.' So, this has actually never been done before, the whole thing? So, this has actually never been done before, the whole thing? Not that I know of. Well, what do you think? Is it worth us, uh, giving it a shot today? Well, what do you think? Is it worth us, uh, giving it a shot today? I would. (LAUGHS) But in true Fiordland style, the rain drives in harder, and we'll have to abort our mission till the conditions improve. REFLECTIVE MUSIC It's here, in Fiordland's prehistoric beech forest, that the massive rainfall fuels a dynamic ecosystem. MUSIC CONTINUES These dense rainforests date back millions of years, relics from a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. MUSIC CONTINUES The high rainfall nourishes a diverse range of vegetation and fungi that scatter the tree trunks. MUSIC CONTINUES This lush, temperate forest features over 700 species of plants. MUSIC CONTINUES This untouched wilderness is also home to ancient creatures that are found nowhere else on Earth. MUSIC CONTINUES The giant native centipede and this jointed invertebrate, the peripatus, lurk in the damp undergrowth. BIRDS CHIRP WISTFUL STRING MUSIC When the weather window finally opens, the Bowen Falls are ready to be tackled. DRAMATIC MUSIC All right, Gus. We'll have to find an anchor between here and the ground. So... hopefully on that big, dry, sunny ledge we'll find a little something. But to get to the big, dry, sunny ledge, Gus, it looks like we're getting a bit wet in the spray. And it's going to be the most difficult abseil, because it's quite slippery-looking. The first-ever full descent of the 161m-high falls. WATERFALL ROARS It's hard to believe that this is only half the volume of water that was powering over here yesterday. DRAMATIC MUSIC The moss-covered walls of the near-vertical granite face are not only treacherous to descend, but these cliff faces are often the only footing some trees and vegetation can cling to and feed off. DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES Whoo-hoo! MUSIC CONTINUES It takes a good three hours to finally get to the bottom, but what an amazing experience! It's unbelievable. I see what you mean when you say you come here to find something bigger than yourself, cos I don't think I've ever done anything like that. REFLECTIVE MUSIC The colossal volumes of fresh water that cascade down these granite walls etch their way into the salty seawater below. MUSIC CONTINUES This fresh water has been stained by tannins as it passes through the native vegetation and layers of rotting leaf litter. It creates a noticeable freshwater layer on the surface. SPLASH! ETHEREAL MUSIC This environment is like nowhere else in the world. The tannins actually block the sun's rays, causing deep-water creatures to live in shallower conditions. This black coral is 200 years old, and it's amazing to see it at this depth. Usually, you'd have to dive to over 300m to see them in such abundance. Fiordland has one of the largest populations in the world, with over 7 million colonies thriving in these depths. Although the fjords extend to depths of over 400m, marine life disappears quickly below the top 40m. DOLPHIN SPLASHES Marine life that lives near the surface is now protected in 10 reserves scattered throughout the park. These marine reserves protect native species against the ongoing threat of human interference. DOLPHINS SQUEAK This resident pod of bottlenose dolphins have had two successful breeding seasons, with calf survival rates now the highest they've been in a decade. WATER SPLASHES Gidday, little fella. He's a NZ fur seal, yep. NZ fur seal? NZ fur seal? NZ fur seal, yeah. Kekeno. From early 1800s right through to < 1889, they were hunted. Fiona Lee's been guiding kayaking adventures in Fiordland for 10 years. And they were hunted for their skins or their fur and also for the oil, and, uh, they would pull out about 60,000 to 70,000 skins at a time. And they were essentially one boatload away from extinction. ETHEREAL MUSIC In 1792, a party of sealers spent 10 months in the fjords collecting 4500 seal skins. MUSIC CONTINUES In the following 30 years, the fur seal population was almost wiped out. And these are protected now? They're protected, yep. They were one of the first marine mammals to be protected in NZ waters, and, yeah, they're certainly coming back really well with their numbers, which is brilliant. ETHEREAL MUSIC WATERFALL ROARS While this is a world that seems almost untouched and impenetrable, the lure of the fjords has seen explorers determined to get here no matter what the landscape threw at them. AVALANCHE ROARS ICE CRACKS 1 MAJESTIC MUSIC Milford Sound ` the face of Fiordland National Park. TRIUMPHANT STRING MUSIC A seemingly untouched world,... MUSIC CONTINUES ...but this iconic inlet draws over 40,000 visitors every year. It's a 16km journey from the open ocean to the tiny settlement of Milford. MUSIC CONTINUES But the lure of this landscape isn't new; it began over 100 years ago. MUSIC CONTINUES In 1878, Donald Sutherland was the first European resident of Milford Sound. INTRIGUING PIANO MUSIC Called the Hermit of Milford, he lived off the land and was determined to develop the region's tourist potential. MUSIC CONTINUES He built three thatched huts and called his settlement the City of Milford. MUSIC CONTINUES 10 years later, Sutherland and Quintin McKinnon cut the fledgling Milford Track, following an old Maori trail from Lake Te Anau to the head of Milford Sound. INSPIRING MUSIC Soon after, the tourists flooded in, accommodation sprang up, and Milford's future was assured. MUSIC CONTINUES Today the Milford Track is one of NZ's great walks, and over 14,000 people tramp its 54km every year. STATELY MUSIC MUSIC SWELLS It's acknowledged as one of the finest multi-day walks in the world, taking in some of the most dramatic wilderness on the planet, like the Sutherland Falls. Named after the man who was instrumental in opening up the region to tourism, the 500m-high falls are among the tallest in the world. WISTFUL MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES It makes you wonder how many valleys in this area those early explorers must have gone up, only to be met by some of these sheer rock faces at the end. Today, well, this is your veritable four-lane paved superhighway of tramping tracks. BIRD CHIRPS It's a pretty full-time job for quite a few of us. We have between five and seven full-time field staff clearing tracks, the whole lot. So yeah, nah, it's pretty busy. Very busy. Grant Tremain is part of the DOC team charged with maintaining the tracks and huts in this vast wilderness. ELECTRIC DRILL BUZZES ELECTRIC DRILL BUZZES Nice. Is it a balance, Grant, for DOC? You gotta open up these places for use, but you've gotta conserve them as well. Yeah, it is a balancing act. I suppose we just want to get people out there using it, and, uh, balance the different kinds of users as well. So people that just wanna come out for a day, or... The hardcore tramper don't wanna experience bridges over every creek; they wanna get their feet muddy. Yeah, I think we do it well. And we're lucky here. We've got all the room in the world to have, you know, the whole spectrum of different opportunities for people. HAMMERS THUMP There are tens of thousands of people that trek Fiordland's 500km of track. ENERGETIC MUSIC But over one million people enter Fiordland every year by road. The only paved access into Milford Sound is the Milford Road. As it winds through the floor of the Hollyford Valley, the danger of rockfall and avalanches often results in the road being closed. FOREBODING STRING MUSIC With the high peaks and vast snowfields above the road receiving over 70m of snow every year, the avalanche risk is huge. MUSIC CONTINUES Near-vertical walls and large, steep snow basins provide an ideal breeding ground for these giant masses of snow and ice. MUSIC CONTINUES These snowpacks can be triggered into avalanches by gravity, new snow, wind and temperature changes. MUSIC CONTINUES There are 54 known avalanche paths above the Milford Road. MUSIC CONTINUES They're actively managed by deliberately inciting avalanches with explosives dropped from helicopters when the road below is safely closed. BOOM! AVALANCHE ROARS Triggered high in the mountains, avalanches can travel at 300km/h to 400km/h across the valley floor. AVALANCHE RUMBLES The impact pressure of avalanches can be up to 5000 kilopascals. Knowing that the pressure needed to break a car windscreen is just 15 kilopascals brings home the danger to any unwitting cars below. AVALANCHE RUMBLES The massive effort required to monitor, manage and clean up rockfalls and avalanches means it costs five times more to maintain 1km of Milford Road than any other road in NZ. MACHINERY WHIRRS MACHINERY RATTLES MACHINERY BEEPS Everybody that comes here holds this place in awe, they reckon. It's a pretty severe piece of landscape to, uh, manage and keep open, really. 'Wayne Carran leads a specialist road-management team on the Milford Road.' Being an alpine highway, rockslides such as this one can play havoc year-round. But it's often the threat of avalanches that can seriously affect the road during June to November. It's a real rollercoaster, really, as far as prediction and, uh, weather forecasting goes, really. You've got this terrain and a road right beneath it ` it's a bit of a perfect storm for avalanches. Absolutely. It's a pretty humbling place to work in. How do you predict what's gonna happen? You use everything available to you here, really. We got a complex weather-station network, coupled with cameras now, so we can actually see what's going on as well. HELICOPTER ROTORS WHIR Everybody wants to know when how long it's closed for, so your` your assessment comes out of a helicopter, and that's all weather-reliant too, really. There must be pressure on you too ` these tourism operators wanna get people through to Milford. Uh,... personally, I don't feel that pressured, because in the end, they're not gonna thank you for burying them in an avalanche. I think you just do it for the right reasons. Don't be frightened to just slam it closed. If it looks like it's changing pretty dramatically, close it. RHYTHMIC ROCK MUSIC At the highest point in the Milford Road, the 1.2km-long Homer Tunnel pierces the solid granite rock of the Darran mountain range before dropping into the Milford Sound below. Over 250,000 vehicles pass through the Homer Tunnel every year. Work on the tunnel began in 1935 ` initially by just a handful of men armed with picks and wheelbarrows ` and it was finally completed almost 20 years later. RHYTHMIC ROCK MUSIC CONTINUES Work was hampered by the constant threat from avalanches. Most workers were paid on a contract basis determined by their progress. Their earnings were often extremely low due to the hardness of the rock and the harsh conditions. And with the human population now flooding into the fjords by water, by foot and by road, the native inhabitants were bound to be affected. BIRD CHIRPS KEA CALLS INTENSE MUSIC MAJESTIC MUSIC The sheer mountainsides in Fiordland National Park can be 1000m high ` MUSIC CONTINUES ...near impassable for anyone or anything trying to get in or around these valleys. MUSIC CONTINUES All, that is, except the mighty kea, the world's only alpine parrot. BIRDS CHIRP (CHIRPS) The thick feathers protect them from the often freezing temperatures. But there's one thing that's legendary with these inquisitive birds ` they're highly intelligent. It's a trait that's been vital to their survival in these harsh conditions, finding innovative ways to search and forage for food. DRAMATIC MUSIC They have an irresistible urge to explore, manipulate and test the environment, but it was their powerful claws and beak that saw the government pay a bounty for every kea killed, as they preyed on livestock ` SHEEP BLEATS ...especially sheep. DRAMATIC MUSIC Keas are tenacious... SHEEP BLEATS ...and ride their victims ` possibly the same way they clung to moa birds in an earlier time. The kea knows it can dig easily into the lower back of the sheep above the kidneys, where the fatty tissue is an easy meal. SHEEP BLEATS More than 150,000 kea were culled up until 1970, when the bounty was eventually lifted. DRAMATIC MUSIC Today the mountain parrot is just one of the native species that have managed to survive in the relative safety of Fiordland. WISTFUL MUSIC Tucked in beside iconic Mitre Peak, the steep terrain surrounding Sinbad Gully has slowed the invasion of introduced predators, allowing ancient species to survive. WISTFUL MUSIC CONTINUES It's a long way from civilisation and a hell of a commute for DOC ranger James Reardon, who's conducting research work into these native species. CONTEMPLATIVE MUSIC CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS There are still new varieties being discovered out here in this wilderness. MUSIC CONTINUES Here in Sinbad Gully, there's a focus on maintaining pest control to allow these ancient lizards to increase in number. CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS These are little, tiny lizards, basically. These are little, tiny lizards, basically. Oh, yep. Yeah, yep. And with the photographs, what we can get is individual marking characteristics, the spots on the side of the body. 'James is a DOC technical officer responsible for threatened fauna and ecosystem management in Fiordland.' The Sinbad skink is just one of the species he's monitoring. (CHIRPS) So, you're still finding new species that have never been seen before? Well, you're on the edge of 1.3 million hectares of largely undeveloped Fiordland here, so goodness knows what's tucked away in there. What else has been found up in this area? Well, amazingly enough, there's three species of lizards up here, and that is remarkable. We're in an alpine environment in a temperate country. Anywhere else in the world you'd be struggling to get one lizard, if any. In most places there's none. One thing we're really interested in finding is whether they're only in this spot because this is just a special little environment for them, or whether they have historically lived throughout this landscape and pests have meant that they're now only found in these, sort of, more remote areas. I guess you're in a wee lost world, really, up here, and there's no telling what else could be out, sitting down there. Well, that ridge there was one of the last places that kakapo were removed from Fiordland. Really? So kakapo were living in this valley? Absolutely. I mean, there were kakapo absolutely everywhere before pests got to NZ. I mean, literally everywhere. But then, even after pests got here, they hung on in these sorts of places. Because the ability for rats and stoats to move into these environments ` obviously they can get here, but they're limited by the terrain. The flow of them is reduced compared to low down in valley bottoms. We've got a bit of a natural advantage to managing species, potentially, in these habitats, if we can understand what the pests are doing. You guys go to a huge amount of trouble over these little skinks. Some people might say, 'Why bother?' Mm, mm. Yeah, I mean, it's... it's a value... it's a moral values thing, really. If you don't worry about biodiversity, then let it disappear. But let's face it ` humanity persists on the basis of ecosystem function. And ecosystems are incredibly complex. We can't say, 'This species matters and that one doesn't.' You need to keep biodiversity for the future wealth of humanity. REFLECTIVE MUSIC But this is an isolated environment that has remained virtually untouched and survived for millions of years. MUSIC CONTINUES While its isolation has allowed local species to survive, its seclusion is also being used to preserve and restore other populations from around NZ that are on the brink of extinction. BIRD CHIRPS REFLECTIVE MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES Unoccupied, peaceful, and a snapshot of a NZ before humans arrived, Dusky Sound in Fiordland National Park is like no other place in NZ. MUSIC CONTINUES 40km long, Dusky is one of the least touched by humans. MUSIC CONTINUES WATER SPLASHES There's no road access into Dusky ` it's an hour by helicopter from Te Anau or an arduous day by sea from Milford Sound. This isolation and strict management of the number of boats allowed in these waters has contributed to its pristineness. WATER SPLASHES So, this is coming into Pickersgill Harbour, Gus. This is where Captain Cook came in. 'Greg Hay is a part-owner of one of the few boats that have a DOC permit to offer charters in Dusky,' taking travellers into NZ's past. WATER SPLASHES They backed the boat in, hadn't anchored, and then there was a tree ` a well-placed tree ` which had fallen of the bank, and they used that as their gangway to leave the boat. Right. So, he was staying there for, what, six weeks? He came in here for six weeks with his crew. I mean, the boat was only about 30ft larger than the Pembroke, which we're on now, but he had 90 people on board. And a bunch of` Probably a few sheep and cows and what have you too? I think it was a mini version of the Ark. I think it had, uh, a menagerie on board. MAJESTIC STRING MUSIC It's a well-known fact that when humans stepped on to NZ soil, they arrived with new animals, some that have gone on to decimate our indigenous species. MUSIC CONTINUES Fiordland is no different, with a number of species overtaken by introduced predators. Ooh, the beer's a bit small. Well, as a company, Peregrine's been involved in the avian-conservation side of Fiordland for around about five years ` mainly with the saddleback birds and also with the mohua birds, but it's in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and the Fiordland Conservation Trust. 'A winemaker by trade, Greg's company have paid for the pest eradication 'and subsequent release of native saddlebacks on Resolution Island, here in the sounds.' (CHIRPS) It was only 40 years ago the saddleback got down to the last 24 birds in existence. And 24 birds faced with a fleet of rats after them ` that's probably like a week away from being extinct. (CHIRPS) Since the arrival of humans into NZ, there's been around about 55-odd species of birds that have become extinct. Most of these birds were endemic to NZ, so they weren't even found anywhere else. They were our birds, specific to NZ. So it's just nice to, kind of, put a, you know, flag in the sand and go, 'OK, we're gonna do what we can.' As a company,... BIRDS CHIRP ...you can sit back and do nothing, but I think that would be a tragedy, if you have the ability and the desire to go, 'Well, we'd actually quite like to do something.' And you do notice the difference really quickly. We used to pull up here and go for a walk on the land, and it was like there was no sound whatsoever. It was actually just very quiet. And over the last seven or eight years, every time we come back, it was like sitting in, uh, a theatre and listening to various parts of an orchestra crank up. For the first year you might hear that instrument going, which was one bird, and then the next year there was that bird and that bird. And now you pull up the boat here, and in the mornings or the evenings, it's like listening to the whole orchestra playing. And it wasn't there eight years ago. BIRDS CHIRP I mean, your connection to this place ` you've been back here a lot ` how would you describe it? There's a tranquillity about it, but there's a real power about it as well. If you've been on a tramp for a whole day with a very heavy pack and you get to a hut and you take your pack off, you feel like, kind of, flying slightly. and you take your pack off, you feel like, kind of, flying slightly. Yeah. That's what, for me, it's like coming in here ` it's really uplifting. This is what it probably looked like a thousand or 2000 years ago. And there's not many places like that left in the world. MAJESTIC MUSIC The dawn chorus that was lost from this land for a century is gradually returning. But elsewhere in the park, the battle to protect our natural heritage is still raging. MAJESTIC MUSIC CONTINUES REFLECTIVE MUSIC Fiordland National Park. It was here that the concept of conservation lifeboat islands first emerged ` island sanctuaries purged of predators that nurse critically endangered species back from the brink of extinction. And one in particular is like only a handful on the planet. Resolution Island lives up to its title ` resolute and remote, positioned to protect and nurture endangered native species. I vaguely remember learning about this place when I was at school, but when you actually come here, the history just completely comes to life. There's just up behind me there is the site of NZ's first house ` the first European house, anyway. And just in this cove here was where they built the first ship. And it was all done by some sealers who were dropped off here to do their nasty seal-clubbing business just 20 years after Cook was first here. Now the sealers are long gone and this island's been trapped of all the predators, this place is home to about a third of the kakapo that are left in the whole world. WISTFUL MUSIC Before the arrival of introduced predators, kakapo had no natural enemies. They adapted to become fat, slow and flightless. When European settlers brought introduced animals such as weasels, ferrets and stoats, they had an immediate impact, decimating native bird populations. Innovative efforts would be required to save our vulnerable native birds from extinction. THUD! In 1891, Resolution Island in Dusky Sound was chosen as NZ's first sanctuary. BIRDS CHIRP The first caretaker, Richard Henry, is regarded as the grandfather of NZ's conservation movement. He single-handedly pioneered the science of island sanctuaries, transferring over 700 kakapo and kiwi. INSPIRING MUSIC But this first attempt failed. The island was slowly overrun by stoats and rats, which managed to swim the kilometre from the mainland. But after a fuller understanding of predators' capabilities, Richard Henry's concept became a success. It would eventually inspire a renaissance of pest eradication work and native bird relocations long after his death. MAJESTIC MUSIC At over 400m deep, Lake Hauroko is the country's deepest and one of our most southern. And it's here that conservation meets commerce in a very simple concept. RHYTHMIC ROCK MUSIC Visitors here can now receive a free jetboat ride across the lake and down the river rapids if they sponsor a local stoat-trapping programme. BOAT ENGINE REVS Since we've been operating, the decline in the birds has been amazing. So we decided that we would do something about it, and we've been putting stoat traps out over the last six and a half years. Johan and Joyce have been running jetboat tours for years, 'but only recently started a stoat-trap initiative.' You've got something there. So, this is the little bugger that's causing so much damage around here. They're perfect killers. They're not killing because they're hungry a lot of the time; they just do it. Is this the future for conservation, Joyce, getting people involved? I'd like to think so. I'd like to think that everybody can do their bit. RHYTHMIC ROCK MUSIC It may be just a small operation, but Johan and Joyce, with the support of many customers, have eradicated over 400 stoats in the past year. Knowing that one stoat is estimated to kill a native bird a day, then over the past year, it's possible they may have saved over 100,000 native birds. I think that we have a job to take as many people as we can and show them and let them appreciate this place for what it is. And it's... it's gorgeous. The Fiordland region has a history of fighting for the preservation of its wilderness, from individual initiatives to larger collective efforts that motivate the entire country. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lake Manapouri was the focus of one of NZ's most important conservation battles. The Manapouri Power Station draws water from the lake for power generation. BOOM! When a proposal was put forward to raise lake levels to increase power generation, the public of NZ fought back. Do we want to protect our national heritage? Do we want to protect our national heritage? CROWD CHEERS A line was drawn in the sand in what is now heralded as the birthplace of NZ's conservation movement. And we're doing this for our children and for you. Thousands of NZers protested, and over 265,000 signed a petition demanding a back-down. I think we've got to make a stand now, otherwise it'll just keep going and going, won't it? In the name of progress, they'll just destroy every beautiful thing we've got. The people won. The public pressure saw the lake granted statutory protection by the government. Lake levels are now carefully controlled to mimic natural fluctuations. Today conservationists and concerned members of the public are preparing for another battle. WATER RUSHES There's always been debate about opening up Fiordland more for tourism. They've been talking for years about pushing this road down the Hollyford Track and up the West Coast, but the latest idea is a tunnel from Glenorchy over on the Queenstown side. It's gonna come through all the way under the mountains and come out just up there. And I reckon massive, privately owned developments like that don't belong in a place like this. This is a national park, which means it belongs to all of us. In fact, this is a World Heritage area, so technically, it belongs to the whole world. Anyway, the whole thing seems crazy, just to get the punters through to Milford a couple of hours quicker. It's not gonna happen. BIKE WHOOSHES Fiordland National Park ` the Shadowland,... a granite wilderness that's persisted through millennia. Species and ecosystems have survived in the isolation, while some are still fragile. Introduced predators have been vilified for decimating native species, but the biggest threat to this unspoiled masterpiece is still the human race. Will these towering fjords be capable of repelling the next wave of interest from those hungry to take advantage of one of the most unique national parks in the world? Personally, I love the fact that I can look at a map of the South Island and know there's this huge chunk of land down the bottom that's locked up and undeveloped. And I know we look across jealously at the Australians, with all that mineral wealth, but there's real wealth in a place like this. When I studied environmental management at university, we talked about these places as having an intrinsic value, and that's the value that somewhere like this has, just left on its own for its own sake. And you can't put a price on it. And the great thing is, when the Australians have dug up the outback and are just left with a dirty great hole, we are gonna have all of this. 'WILD ABOUT NZ' THEME Captions by Tom Wilson. Edited by Faith Hamblyn. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013