Mt Aspiring National Park stretches for about 140 km along the high and glaciated axial zone of the Southern Alps, in the southern part of the range.

Specific references for this page: Neville Peat 1994: Land Aspiring - The Story of Mt Aspiring National Park. Craig Potton Publishing. Craig Potton 1998: National Parks of New Zealand. Craig Potton Publishing. Gerald Cubitt and Les Molloy 1994: Wild New Zealand. New Holland. Wild New Zealand 1981. Reader's Digest New Zealand National Parks, 1979. Collins Nature Heritage Series. Robbie Burton & Maggie Atkinson 1998: A Tramper's Guide to New Zealand National Parks. Reed Mark Pickering 1997: New Zealand's Top Tracks - A Guide to the Department's of Conservation's Great Walks. Reed. Graeme Bishop 1989: The Mt Aspiring Region. NZ Alpine Club. John Kent 1998: South Island Trout Fishing Guide. Reed. John Cobb 1990: The Walking Tracks of New Zealand's National Parks. Viking.

  The park was created in 1964 and has been enlarged progressively to cover an area of 355,000 ha (887,500 acres)(the third largest in New Zealand after Fiordland and Kahurangi National Parks).
Mt Aspiring is the only peak higher than 3000 m (9842'), and crowns the most heavily glaciated area, outside Mt Cook.
Mt Aspiring National Park is largely unspoilt by development, and wilderness is fully protected in some designated areas. It is part of the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area.
See below: Activities - What to see and do in Mt Aspiring National Park

Geological setting
The rocks in Mt Aspiring National Park are mostly schist (the Haast Schist formations). This far south the schist zone, which further north is restricted to the zone west of the divide, forms the whole breadth of the Southern Alps. The three main families (zones) of schist (chlorite, biotite and garnet zones) are represented within the park.
Other significant rock types within the park are:

• greywacke and argillites in the north (Mt Brewster and Landsborough area) and in the south (Humboldt Mountains),
• nephrite (jade), formerly used by Maori for the fabrication of tools, weapons and ornaments, in the Caples, Routeburn and Dart valleys,
• the ultramafics (serpentinites, dunites and peridotites) of the Red Hills area, in the south-western corner of the park, closely associated with mafic volcanic rocks. This association has often been considered as a single unit: the "Ultramafic Belt". Similar formations are found in the Nelson region (Dun Mountain).
  The origin of these rocks is associated with volcanic activity, probably via differentiation from gabbroic or picritic magmas in magma chambers.
  The high concentration of the ultramafics in magnesium inhibits plant growth, while a strong concentration in iron results in a marked red surface colour through oxidation.
  The result is a distinctive, barren landscape of reddish colour, that stands strikingly in the landscape.
  See also the Rocks in the New Zealand mountains
  New Zealand tectonics/Active faults

Because of its large size Mt Aspiring National Park encompasses the upper reaches of several major valleys: the Arawhata, Waipara and Waiototo on the western side, and the Matukituki and Wilkin on the eastern side. These valleys were deeply shaped and carved by the large glaciers of the last ice ages, and bring areas of low altitude in the heart of the mountains. Although they are surrounded by extensive glaciers and summits of over 2500 m (8202'), Cameron Flat in the Matukituki is at 333 m (1092'), Bonar Flats in the Waiototo under 200 m (656'), the lower Ten Hour Gorge in the Arawhata under 100 m (328'), and even Williamson Flat on the Joe River still under 400 m (1312').

Climatic conditions
 The actual weather in the park results from the effect of the mountains on the general weather pattern. Acting as a major hurdle in the path of the prevalent westerly weather systems, the Southern Alps force the moist air to rise and condense. Accordingly on the western side of the mountains precipitation increases, from sea level to the summits of the main divide, to extremely high levels.
  West of the main divide the park receives very high precipitation and rainfall: 3,500 mm/year (138 in.) at Haast on the coast, up to 8,000 mm/year (315 in.) or more on the mountains further east. Precipitation decreases sharply east of the divide, due to the rainshadow effect of the mountains: 2400 mm/year (94 in.) at Makarora, 1140 mm/year (45 in.) at Glenorchy, 660 mm/year (26 in.) in Wanaka.
  In Mt Aspiring National Park as elsewhere in the Southern Alps the weather is very changeable and unpredictable, due to the sometimes quick succession of cold and warm fromts over the mountains, as well as to the disturbances in the general weather pattern generated by the mountains themselves.
  On the western side temperatures are mild, due to the moderating effect of the ocean, and this is reflected in the luxuriant native rainforests of the west coast. The eastern side experiences a wider range of temperatures.
See also the Effect of the climate in New Zealand mountains

Vegetation
Because of the large range of habitats and climatic conditions present in the park (due to a high altitudinal range as well as the variety of climatic conditions from west to east) the vegetation is both rich and diverse. The main divide is a well-defined boundary between a wetter west and a drier east, and plant communities vary significantly from one side to the other.

Forest
  Podocarp trees are better represented west of the divide. Thirteen of the 22 species present in New Zealand exist in the park, including rimu, kahikatea, miro, matai, totara, mountain toatoa, mountain cedar (kaikawaka). These podocarp forests are dense and luxuriant, with a profusion of small trees and shrubs, ferns, tree ferns, vines, epiphytes, lianas and mosses. They are restricted to altitudes lower than 800 m (2625'), and the larger species kahikatea, rimu, miro and matai start to drop out above 450 m (1476').
  Beech forests (southern beech, genus Nothofagus) are found throughout the park up to the timberline, at an altitude of 1000 to 1200 m (3280-3937'). Black and mountain beech predominate in rainfall areas of 1500-2500 mm/year (59-98 in.), while silver beech is better represented in colder and wetter areas. Hard beech is more restricted, close to the western edge of the park south of Haast.
  The irregular distribution of the 4 beech species in the park is generally considered to be an effect of the ice ages, when glaciers eliminated entire forests. Recolonisation has taken place at a rate depending on survival location, and the ability to disperse seeds.

Above the bushline
  At the bushline there is a belt of senecio, dracophyllums, snow totara and other shrubs such as hebe and coprosma.
Tussock grasslands dominate the rest of the vegetation above this shrubland. Taller species up to 1.5 m high (5 ') occupy the lower part, while shorter ones take over at higher altitude.
  Interspersed among them are spaniards (Aciphylla), mountain daisies (Celmisia), mountain buttercups (especially Ranunculus Lyallii, the world's largest), gentians.
  Vegetation becomes stunted and more scattered above 1500 m (4921'), while still containing many species such as blue tussock and cushion plants. All vegetation disappears from about 1800 m (5905').

Birds
  The range of habitats within Mt Aspiring National Park attracts a diversity of birdlife, although a number of species have become rarer or extinct following the introduction of exotic predators such as stoats and ferrets.
  Above the bushline is the home of the rock wren, a tiny bird 9 cm (3.5 in.) long, and the kea, a mountain parrot. It is estimated that 500 keas live in the park.
  Birdlife is rich in the forest edges, while beech forests offer limited food supply to birds and thus lack significant bird populations. The lower Dart valley has among the richest birdlife in the park, with over 30 species present.
  The commonest native forest species are rifleman, grey warbler, brown creeper, South Island tomtit, New Zealand pipit, fantail, silvereye.
  Kaka, the kea's lowland relative, is found in small numbers in the west coast valleys, as well as in the lower Dart, Routeburn and Blue valleys.
  A small population of South Island brown kiwis lives in the north of the Haast range as well as in the Arawhata and Waiototo valleys at the foot of the ranges.
  Bellbirds, tuis and New Zealand pigeons are common in the western valleys, while parakeets (kakariki) and yellowheads (mohua) have been greatly reduced and now occur only in pockets.

Paradise shelducks are common in grassy flats, while the numbers of blue ducks, who live in torrents, are decreasing.
Riverbeds are habitats for migratory and wading birds such as wrybills, pied stilts, arctic terns, pied oystercatchers, dotterels and black-billed gulls.

Other native fauna
Both New Zealand's only native mammals, the long and short-tailed bats, live within the park.
Insect life is rich, including beetles, moths, flies, grasshoppers, and wetas.
The giant carnivorous snail Powelliphanta lives in the Haast river area.
Native galaxiid fish can be found in many parts of the park, and especially in the rivers of the western side, where they sustain commercial whitebait fishing.

Introduced animals
  Introduced animals have had a destructive impact on both native flora and fauna in Mt Aspiring National Park, as in many other parts of New Zealand.
  Rats, cats and mustelids are responsible for the decline in numbers of many bird, insect and reptile species. Kakapo, common in early european times, have disappeared, and several other species are now endangered (cf. above).
  Red deer were introduced from 1871 until the 1920s to provide game for hunting. They multiplied quickly into huge numbers, causing severe damage to the vegetation. Culling was undertaken prior to World War II but became fully effective in the mid-1960s with the advent of the helicopter.
  Thar and goats are also controlled by helicopter. Chamois have spread from their release in Mt Cook early in the 20th century and are found in moderate numbers in the park.
Opossums are now posing a serious threat to the forests of the park, as in the rest of New Zealand.

Activities - What to see and do in Mt Aspiring National Park

Tramping
Mt Aspiring National Park is vast and offers numerous choices to the tramper, from weekend tramps on marked tracks to demanding expeditions of several weeks into wilderness areas. Two of New Zealand's most popular tramping tracks, the Routeburn (one of New Zealand's Great Walks) and the Rees-Dart, cross the southern parts of the park.
Camp in the Barrier Range, overlooking the Dart Valley. Photo NC.

Short and day walks
There is also a good choice of shorter walks into the fringes of Mt Aspiring National Park, leading from the Haast Pass Highway, as well as from the West and East Matukituki and lower Dart valleys. Many interesting features of the park can be discovered in this way, such as native forests, waterfalls, soaring peaks, glaciers, gorges, and wild valleys dug deep in the middle of high mountains. A number of native bird species can also be seen on these walks.

Mountaineering
  Mt Aspiring is one of New Zealand's primary mountaineering objectives. It dominates a large glaciated area, where Colin Todd Memorial Hut and French Ridge Hut provide bases for attemptig summits such as Pope's Nose, Mt Avalanche, Rob Roy.
 Between the lower Dart and Rees rivers, Mt Earnslaw (2819 m/9248') is another popular and reasonably accessible objective, usually climbed from Esquilant Bivvy.
  The other high and heavily glaciated areas include the Olivine Range in the upper Arawata, the Barrier Range between Arawata and Dart, and the Castor and Pollux area between the Wilkin and Waiototo rivers. These areas are more remote and can be very difficult of access.

Ski-touring
Mount Aspiring National Park offers good potential for ski-touring, although there again access is the main problem. The Bonar and Volta glaciers around Mt Aspiring are the most popular areas.

Fishing
East of the divide, fishing in Mt Aspiring National Park is mainly in the Makarora, Wilkin and Matukituki rivers and some of their tributaries. Both brown and rainbow trout are usually present, with some landlocked quinnat salmon. Stocks may not be very high, but the scenery compensates for it. Tramping experience is often required, and river crossings can be dangerous.