Travel
During my visit to Kaikoura, I made my way up to the Kaikoura Lookout a couple of times, to catch both sunrises and sunsets over the harbour. The lookout provides stunning views in all directions, over the town, the ocean, and the countryside. Below are some of my favourite images from this special place.
Kaikoura is another one of New Zealand’s hidden gems. It is less popular than other nearby tourist destinations, but is nonetheless a fantastic place to visit. This is one of the few places in the world where you will see a snowy mountain chain as a backdrop to a white sandy beach. Here are some of my favourite images of my first day on the beaches, capturing some of this unique landscape.
Akaroa peninsula is the best place in New Zealand to spot the world’s smallest dolphin. The Hector’s Dolphin is endemic to New Zealand, and sadly are nationally endangered. In my time in Akaroa, I enjoyed the harbour views before hopping on a boat to try and spot some of these unique dolphins in their natural environment.
Akaroa is peninsula on the Western coast of New Zealand’s South Island. It is just over an hours’ drive from the city of Christchurch, yet offers a completely different atmostphere. This is New Zealand’s only French settlement, and boasts abundant wildlife. I visited Akaroa for the first time late last year, and one of the highlights of my visit was a private tour to a fur seal colony. As it was Summer, the colony consisted mostly of very young - and very inquisitive - seal pups.
Lake Tekapo and its quaint Church of the Good Shepherd is one of my absolute favourite locations in New Zealand. I have visited a few times in the past, capturing a stunning purple sunset and a snowy morning in the area, but something about this place keeps calling me back. Below are some images of my latest visit, where I enjoyed a serene golden hour by the lake.
Although the Clay Cliffs near Lake Tekapo were mostly unknown when I visited, they can now be admired from screens all around the world. This stunning location was featured in Disney’s Mulan movie, making it yet another famous shooting location in New Zealand’s South Island. It now joins the ranks of Hobbiton, Mount Cook, and Tongariro National Park, as one of many internationally-recognised “kiwi” landscapes.
The Moeraki Boulders form a quintessential New Zealand landscape. The beach at Moeraki is covered in these enormous spheres, reminescent of alien eggs in a distant planet. Together with a striking sunrise or sunset painting their surroundings in bold warm colours, this makes for some postcard-worthy images. An incredible, one of a kind scenery!
Although it is famous for its circular boulders (more on this next week!), Moeraki is also home to a large New Zealand fur seal colony. This is based at Katiki Point, a short walk from the lighthouse. This is an excellent place to get up close to the fur seals, as they climb up from the beach to the grass on either side of the marked path. In the summer, their coats stand in striking contrast to the dried yellow grass.
Dunedin has some of the most spectacular coastline in all of New Zealand, which is made even more incredible by its wildlife. Today I feature some images of a sealion we spotted sunbathing on the beach, as well as a pink sunset over Tunnel Beach.
Dunedin, the so-called wildlife capital of New Zealand, is an excellent place to go birdwatching, especially seabirds. This is the home to Taiaroa Head, the world’s only mainland breeding colony of royal albatross. I paid a visit to the Royal Albatross Centre to see these magnificent animals up close, and although it was not the right time to spot chicks, it was still incredible to see these giants take flight so close by.
The Orokonui Ecosanctuary in Dunedin is an excellent place to meet some of New Zealand’s most charismatic bird species. This is an open natural reserve where endemic birds can live and breed in a large predator-free area. There are also plenty of bird feeders to supplement the birds’ diets. The many walks at the sanctuary can easily provide a whole day’s worth of birdwatching, and are definitely worth a visit.
Following on from my previous blog post, the drive back from the sheep farm in Dunedin also provided some soft golden light on the fields and surrounding landscapes. This made for some more images of the rolling farmland and ocean so typical of the South Island of New Zealand.
During my stay in Dunedin, I visited a beautiful sheep farm as part of a wildlife tour. After viewing penguins, sealions, and fur seals on the property’s beaches, I photographed the golden light just before sunset as it moved over the landscape. It made for some typical “kiwi” scenes, showcasing the New Zealand countryside. Here are some of my favourite images at the sheep farm…
One of my favourite places in the South Island of New Zealand is the city of Dunedin. In my opinion, this is the country’s prime location for wildlife photography, particularly seabirds and marine mammals. There is no shortage of opportunities here, from fur seals and sealions to the only mainland colony of royal albatrosses in the world. Alongside the local fauna, the landscape is also a unique mix of farmland and pristine beaches. It is a really special place.
Nugget Point Lighthouse is another iconic location along the South Island’s rugged coast. It is one of New Zealand’s better known lighthouses, as it is perched on a picturesque hill overlooking the ocean and the “gold nugget” rocks, named by Captain Cook. The skies here did not help much with the sunset, as it was heavily overcast, but even so it was worth a visit!
The South Island of New Zealand has many hidden gems. One of these is the lush Catlins Forest Park. For the lovers of nature - particularly waterfalls -, this is an unmissable travel destination. We spent a few lazy days here, enjoying the quiet surroundings and the incredible views. Below are some of my favourite images of the truly stunning waterfalls of the region.
The next step in the South Island roadtrip was the Catlins Forest Park. This was a long drive down from Te Anau, stopping by the peaceful Fortrose Beach before a relaxing sunset over the bay near our accomodation. The Catlins is a less popular tourist destination in New Zealand, but as you will see from my next week’s blog post, it is vastly underrated. The region is brimming with majestic waterfalls and luxuriant forests which remain undiscovered by many.
Milford Sound is one of the top tourist destinations in New Zealand. This large fjord is known for its huge waterfalls and stunning green scenery. Although my visit coincided with some particularly poor weather (and visibility), the landscapes still provided more than enough content for some once-in-a-lifetime photos. It is definitely worth taking a long cruise of the sound, which travels past many of the waterside waterfalls, and also going for a few walks in the surrounding areas as well.
After photographing the sunset at the Wanaka tree, I returned the following morning hoping for an equally spectacular sunrise. The low clouds and still lake did not disappoint, and this time the tree and the mountains were illuminated in a slightly different light. I was lucky to capture so many postcard-worthy images of this iconic tree in its original form.
New Zealand is full of spectacular farmland. Whilst in Wanaka, I came across some beautiful countryside scenery, including a number of deer and sheep farms. It was late in the afternoon and the fog started rolling into the horizon, creating a barrier between the trees in the foreground and the surrounding mountains. Here are some of my favourite images of the surroundings of a deer farm we stumbled upon by the side of the road.
