The Husband and I had an extra long weekend over Easter, due to a fortuitous Anzac Day add-on. So, I booked us some cheapo flights and a rental car... and we hopped over "the ditch" to New Zealand. Or, New Zillund, as the locals say. So, so glad we went. What a gorgeous country. I think we spent the entire four days with our mouths agape, breathing 'wow' over and over again.
I have been sorting through my 600+ photos (The Husband took a further 900+) and it's hard to choose, so I am just going to load this post up with a whole bunch of them. I am sure, once you see them, why it was hard to stop taking photo after photo.
This is the view as we left Christchurch and started making our way towards the Mountains and Arthurs Pass.
The landscape starts to change.
A rainstorm heralds us through the pass.
Mist covers the mountain tops.
Fox Glacier was an incredible, breathtaking hike. Freezing cold and beautiful.
This glacier moves at a rate of approximately 1 meter per day and receives over 40 meters of new snow per year. It is absolutely huge. It's sad to think that at it's current rate, it could be completely gone in 2 or 3 generations.
There are people climbing that glacier, can you spot them?
From there we moved on to "Middle Earth". Some spectacular scenery as we descended from the mountains and into the valley. We hiked through deciduous rainforests, covered in moss, to see the 'blue pools' - ice cold rivers the deep blue of the glaciers they came from. (Click the photos to view them full screen.)
One of the last legs of the trip included a stop at Lake Tekapo, and the home of the Church of the Good Shepherd. I was looking forward to photographing this spot, and it didn't disappoint. What an amazing view, albeit bitter cold. We drove up Mount John to the observatory and the 360 degree views just take your breath away.
The last morning we awoke to snow covered mountain peaks. We spent the morning on a horse trek up the mountains and around the lake, with sweeping views of sheep-dotted fields and all the autumn colours I had hoped for.
We didn't take any photos of Christchurch, as the earthquake devastation was just too sobering for me. But after this trip, we know we'll be back. There is still so much to see.
I have been sorting through my 600+ photos (The Husband took a further 900+) and it's hard to choose, so I am just going to load this post up with a whole bunch of them. I am sure, once you see them, why it was hard to stop taking photo after photo.
This is the view as we left Christchurch and started making our way towards the Mountains and Arthurs Pass.
The landscape starts to change.
A rainstorm heralds us through the pass.
Mist covers the mountain tops.
Fox Glacier was an incredible, breathtaking hike. Freezing cold and beautiful.
This glacier moves at a rate of approximately 1 meter per day and receives over 40 meters of new snow per year. It is absolutely huge. It's sad to think that at it's current rate, it could be completely gone in 2 or 3 generations.
There are people climbing that glacier, can you spot them?
From there we moved on to "Middle Earth". Some spectacular scenery as we descended from the mountains and into the valley. We hiked through deciduous rainforests, covered in moss, to see the 'blue pools' - ice cold rivers the deep blue of the glaciers they came from. (Click the photos to view them full screen.)
One of the last legs of the trip included a stop at Lake Tekapo, and the home of the Church of the Good Shepherd. I was looking forward to photographing this spot, and it didn't disappoint. What an amazing view, albeit bitter cold. We drove up Mount John to the observatory and the 360 degree views just take your breath away.
The last morning we awoke to snow covered mountain peaks. We spent the morning on a horse trek up the mountains and around the lake, with sweeping views of sheep-dotted fields and all the autumn colours I had hoped for.
We didn't take any photos of Christchurch, as the earthquake devastation was just too sobering for me. But after this trip, we know we'll be back. There is still so much to see.
