National Park Service Retirees Share 10 Favorite Foreign Parks

Goldman is one of the 700 members of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees that want to share with fellow Americans their favorite national parks in other countries.

The coalition today released a list of 10 of what members consider to be the best foreign national parks, spanning the globe from Australia, Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Coalition member Rick Smith, a former superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns, said, "Most Americans know that Yellowstone was our first national park, but it was also the world's first national park. The idea of a national park was new with Yellowstone, but it was soon adopted by many countries, one of the best ideas our country gave the world."

"Just as we did, those countries have expanded the original concept to a great variety of parks and reserves," Smith said. "Today, marvelous parks are to be found all over the world."

"We plan many of our overseas trips around the national parks or protected areas we can visit in other countries," he said.

Some National Park Service retirees have had the opportunity, when on temporary training or work assignments with foreign countries or as Peace Corps volunteers, to work in and contribute to those countries' national parks.

Mount Ngauruhoe in New Zealand's Tongariro National Park was used as a stand-in for the fictional Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings movie. (Photo by Gerard Font)

The following 10 foreign national parks are among the outstanding places members of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees recommended. Where it was necessary to break ties, the coalition says, the park selected was included to provide for maximum geographic diversity.

1. Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. This is one of the North Island's three UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It features volcanic peaks, one of which is active, and is still home to many Maoris, who donated the park to New Zealand in 1887, when it became the world's fourth national park. The Maoris are very outgoing in displaying their culture to visitors.

2. Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. This World Heritage Site is jointly managed by the Aborigines and the Australian government. It has magnificent vistas, great waterfalls, stunning displays of Aboriginal rock art, and is habitat to an awesome predator, the estuarine saltwater crocodile.

3. Snowdonia National Park, Wales, Great Britain. Snowdonia is a lovely mountain park, with Mount Snowdon, which is comprised of slate, rising to 3,560 feet. While this park is not geologically or scenically spectacular compared with many mountain parks, it is spectacular in its own right, due in part to its peaceful nature.

4. Kruger National Park, South Africa. This is perhaps the most impressive wildlife viewing area in the world. Millions of acres of habitat and little development give visitors an opportunity to see many large African mammals and magnificent birds. It is one of the few places where wildlife wander free and the visitors are controlled.

5. Tikal National Park, Guatemala. This World Heritage Site contains the spectacular ruins of a Maya settlement from around 250–900 AD. The towering ruins of temples, one 70 meters tall, rising from the jungle that surrounds them, are testimony to the architectural genius of the Maya. As many as 90,000 people lived in Tikal at its zenith, but strife with neighboring towns and environmental stress caused its abandonment beginning in the 10th century. Mayan guides help visitors understand the wonders of this site.

Visitors view waterfalls at Iguazu National Park. (Photo by Wdot Design)

6. Iguazu National Park, Argentina. This park protects one of the most spectacular natural landscapes in Argentina and Brazil, Iguazu Falls and the surrounding subtropical forest. The falls are 70 meters high, but even more impressive is their width - the river at the falls is 1,500 meters wide. A thrilling experience is the short boat ride and walk along the catwalks to the most striking of the hundreds of falls, Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat.

7. Sagarmantha National Park, Nepal. The park includes Mount Everest, among other prominent mountains. It has distinctive wildlife and small picturesque Sherpa villages with their monasteries.

8. Madain Saley National Historic Park, Saudi Arabia. This region, the Biblical Midian, is mostly undulating desert, interspersed with huge rocky outcrops and lush oases. Here, between 500 B.C. and 100 A.D., the Nabatean people created 125 monumental cut-rock tombs and facades, edifices up to 130 feet tall, that are standing today in a remarkable state of preservation.

9. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. Plitvice Lakes National Park is located in inland Croatia, about halfway between Zagreb and Split. In moderately mountainous terrain, the park features small lakes and streams and beautiful waterfalls. Because of the geology of the area, travertine is evident in most of the water features, giving them distinctive blue-green colors and exceptionally clear water. There are a number of excellent short and moderate hiking trails with quiet, non-polluting electric ferries connecting some of the trails by way of the lakes. Fall color season is especially spectacular.

10. Hortobagy National Park, Hungary. This park is located on the "puszta," or great Hungarian plains. It was the country's first national park. It also is a biosphere reserve and a World Heritage Site. The plains and wetlands reflect two millennia of human occupation and have supported agrarian life for centuries. It has several endangered bird species and is a refuge for the Przewalski horse and migratory waterfowl. Culturally, it preserves and interprets traditional Hungarian folkways, such as the nomadic herding culture of the puszta.

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