Fiordland

The Department of Conservation (Doc) is confident possums and other pests will not be able to cross a Fiordland river using one of its bridges.

Forty rare pateke, or brown teal, were quick to make themselves at home in their new surroundings in a remote area of Fiordland on Wednesday.

A Ministerial report has "killed dead" the proposed $315 million Haast-Hollyford road, Forest and Bird Society national advocate Kevin Hackwell said yesterday.

Forest and Bird Society advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell has poured cold water on Christchurch businessman Earl Hagaman's proposal suggesting the Government should build a road between Haast and Hollyford.

Significant support is needed from New Zealanders before Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee puts a case to Cabinet to build the proposed Haast-Hollyford road through conservation estate.

Passengers on the tourist vessels Milford Mariner and Milford Wanderer were treated to a spectacle in Milford Sound, when a humpback whale performed a series of acrobatic leaps nearby.

Pest control measures are paying dividends judging by the record number of sightings of rare Fiordland crested penguins, a Milford Sound tourism operator says.