The Grebe Valley Viewpoint is a spectacular Borland Road location deep in Fiordland National Park. It offers stunning views of the Grebe Valley and the various mountain ranges to the west. The viewpoint is a 22.6 km drive along the remote Borland Road and over Borland Saddle. After admiring the view, and if you have a 4WD, you can continue for another 20.4 km along the road to the South Arm of Lake Manapouri, where there is a campsite. The section of the road from the lookout does get closed regularly, especially over Winter and early Spring, so check in advance.
Looking down at the valley, you will see the Grebe River meandering through golden grass with several small lakes. To the south of the viewpoint, a panel that describes the event helps you spot the Green Lake landslide. The landslide resulted from a section of the Hunter Mountains slumping into the Grebe River Valley, filling it to a depth of 800m. It is reasonably distinctive as it is an area of large hilly mounds covered in forest, in contrast to the steep glacier-carved sides of the surrounding mountains.
The landslide occurred 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, probably helped by glacial retreat and earthquakes. Its total area is 45 square km, and its estimated volume is 27 cubic km. It is the largest-known landslide above sea level globally.
