Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

regions. The park forms part of the

Te Wahipounamu Te Wāhipounamu (Māori for "the place of greenstone") is a World Heritage Site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering , the site incorporates four national park ...

World Heritage site.

Geography

Established in 1964 as New Zealand's tenth national park, Mount Aspiring National Park covers at the southern end of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

, directly to the west of

Lake Wānaka Lake Wānaka is New Zealand's fourth-largest lake and the seat of the town of Wānaka in the Otago region. The lake is 278 meters above sea level, covers , and is more than deep. "Wānaka" is the South Island dialect pronunciation of , which ...

, and is popular for tramping, walking and mountaineering. Mount Aspiring / Tititea, elevation above sea level, gives the park its name. Other prominent peaks within the park include Mount Pollux, elevation , and Mount Brewster, elevation . The

Haast Pass Haast Pass / Tioripatea is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. Māori used the pass in pre-European times. The pass takes its name from Julius von Haast, a 19th-century explorer who also served as provincial ...

, one of the three principal road routes over the Southern Alps, crosses the north-eastern corner of the park.

History

Landsborough Station added

In April 2005 the Nature Heritage Fund purchased private land in the Landsborough River valley as an addition to the park.

Milford Sound tunnel proposal

In 2006, the Milford Dart Company asked the Department of Conservation to amend the Mt Aspiring National Park Management Plan to allow an additional road within the park for a bus tunnel, the so-called Milford Tunnel, from the Routeburn Road to the Hollyford Valley to take tourists to

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top t ...

. The tunnel would have established a connection via Glenorchy and would have significantly reduced the current return travel time from Queenstown to

of 9 hours. In December 2007, the New Zealand Conservation Authority declined to adopt the amendment to the Management Plan. The Conservation Authority considered the proposed road would not add to the use and enjoyment of Mount Aspiring National Park and that the adverse effects of construction and use of the road in the National Park would outweigh any benefits. The proposal gained approval in principle by the Department of Conservation in 2011, but was rejected by the Minister of Conservation, Nick Smith, in July 2013. Smith stated that "the proposal was beyond what was appropriate for a

World Heritage Area A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

." The managing director of the company behind the proposal stated that he was "disappointed of course. National trying to out-green the greens. Going skiing."

Mining proposal

In 2009 the National-led government of New Zealand indicated that Mount Aspiring National Park may be opened up to mining. Around 20% of the total area of the park, mainly in the western portions around the Red Hill Range, and the north eastern parts, could be removed from the park and mined. Prospectors here are particularly interested in

carbonatite Carbonatite () is a type of intrusive or extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geochemical verification. Carbonati ...

deposits including rare earth elements and

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isol ...

. The Green Party has warned that the park is one of New Zealand's main tourism drawcards, and that mining here could do significant damage to the country's image.

Visitor centre

The Mount Aspiring National Park visitor centre is located in

Wānaka Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. ...

on the Corner of Ardmore St and Ballentyne Rd.

Tramping and hiking

Popular tramping tracks in the park include: * Gillespie Pass circuit * Mātukituki Valley * Routeburn Track * Rees-Dart circuit

References

External links

Mount Aspiring National Park
at the Department of Conservation {{Authority control Protected areas of Otago Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in New Zealand National parks of New Zealand Parks in Otago