General

The South Island -also known by Maori as Te Wai Pounamu – Water of Greenstone

The land area of the South Island is 150,416 square kilometers in size.  It is more mountainous than the North Island, with the Southern Alps, a massive chain, running nearly the length of the island.  The South Island is separated from the North Island by Cook Strait, which, at its narrowest point, is 20 kilometers wide. South Islanders sometimes jokingly refer to the South Island as "the Mainland", since it's a little larger than the North Island and has more of the spectacular scenery. In terms of population the South Island is not as populated as the North Island.

The principal South Island geography is a mountain range called the Southern Alps, which stretch virtually along the entire western side of the island. Like its European counterpart, the Southern Alps is a magnificent region of lakes, glaciers and, of course, mountains, with Mt Cook reaching a height of over 12,000 feet, making it 5,000 feet higher than anything Australia has to offer.  The scenery and adventure doesn't end with the Alps; the south-west corner of the island is home to Fiordland, a series of long valleys flooded by the ocean with high mountains plunging straight into the water and then continuing down for a thousand or more feet. The largest and most scenic of these fiords is Milford Sound, which is also the endpoint of the world famous Milford Track, a hiking trail which goes over MacKinnon Pass, one of only four passes through the Southern Alps, and past the Sutherland Falls, which at 630 metres is one of the highest waterfalls in the world.  
 
The other passes, the Haast Pass, Arthur's Pass and the Lewis Pass, are further north and provide great views of mountains and lakes right from the highway.  At the northern end of the island is another series of flooded valleys called the Marlborough Sounds, with high hills which can be viewed from the Cook Strait ferry that travels between the North and South Islands.  In the northwest of the South Island is Nelson, which has a hot and sunny climate, limestone caves complete with the bones of giant moa birds and even tame eels which come to be fed beside a local river.  

Abel Tasman National Park is also in this area, with pleasant beach after pleasant beach surrounded by thick forest, and a seal colony which can be visited on an island close offshore. This park can either be hiked or kayaked even by those with minimal experience.   Another area with even more accessible wildlife is Kaikoura on the east coast, with high snow-covered mountains alongside a wild and rocky coastline, seals basking right beside the road and resident sperm whales offshore which can be viewed either by boat, plane or helicopter.