Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) Last month (well April) we went to the South Island, NZ for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Some DOLers gave me some great advice re places to see in an earlier thread so thank you for that, it was really helpful. We had 13 days away driving around the South Island and it wasn't enough! We didn't even get to Milford Sound. It takes a long time to drive places. Itinerary was: Christchurch then 3 nights in Kaikoura, 2 nights around Nelson (did a full day in the Abel Tasman Nat Park), took the wrong route and went via the inland road instead of the scenic coastal route, but still ended up at Fox Glacier, then on to Wanaka for a night and then 4 nights in Queenstown where we did a lot of day hikes, then on to Lake Tepaku via Mount Cook where we ran into awful weather and I couldn't photograph the night stars at Mount John Observatory as the sky was overcast the 2 nights we had there and we were stuck there for 2 nights doing nothing, then back to Christchurch. I loved Kaikoura and Queenstown the most, plenty to do and great hiking. Here are a few snaps of the wildlife and the landscape. Blue Penguin surrounded by kelp, Kaikoura. He came ashore just on sunset and didn't seem phased by me and one other guy photographing him. We kept a respectful distance from the little guy and the light was fading as they come ashore in the evening to their burrows. Next day we did a hike around the beautiful Peninsular for a few hours. It's a tough life being a NZ Fur seal. We saw a tourist get too close and he got chased by one of the bigger males, was pretty funny as they move quite quick. Lonely Planet book says they will chase and can bite. I almost bumped into one on our hike, they were lying around asleep in the afternoon, I was taking a pic of something and nearly backed into him as I didn't see him. Edited June 5, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) We went whale watching the following morning, it was very foggy and miserable and the boat was rolling pretty badly and so was my stomach. Ended up seeing two sperm whales though, they didn't hang around on the surface long before diving. Sunset, Kaikoura Twilight over Kaikoura Caravan Park This waterfall is just out of Kaikoura and frequented by fur seals, they like to bathe and get the parasites off them int he fresh water. One of them took an interest in my tripod and camera so I only got one photo before I grabbed my gear and moved away, didn't need anything ending up in the drink. Close to Fox Glacier is Lake Matheson. I didn't realise how long it took to walk to the lake, so missed the sunset and a good position (wharf was full of tripods). After others had left, I got the afterglow. Lake Wanaka Edited June 1, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:ange: Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I don't know if it's just my virus riddled computer but I can only see a whale pic and seal and the rest come up as little boxes with red crosses.. do you have a link where I can see them? I loved the South Island and I have to agree Kaikoura was one of my favourite towns to visit!! Such a pity you didn't make it to Milford Sound though, it's really beautiful down there.. Glad you had a good time. I would LOVE to go back again one day. One of the best holidays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) My husband resting after a hike around Queenstown area (he didn't know I took the pic) Paraglider over Queenstown Lake Tepaku Punting on the river, Christchurch Edited June 5, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie-boy Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Nope - most of the photos aren't coming up for me either which is a shame as they look gorgeous. Sounds like you had a fantastic time Ripley - I love New Zealand. Last time we went I fell in love with Nelson. Next time we go we want to explore the east coast of the North Island - have been everywhere but there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) I don't know if it's just my virus riddled computer but I can only see a whale pic and seal and the rest come up as little boxes with red crosses.. do you have a link where I can see them? Argh! Damn pbase. I don't know my way around it and it kept crashing on me last night. I think I'll upload them at full size as 400 x is tiny on my work computer but uploading it at 700 will mean it's reduced on here and won't look as sharp, so click on the photo to see it full size or it will look a bit blurry. Will try and fix it, thanks for pointing that out. Edited June 1, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonElite Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Great pics!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) I can't see alot of the photos, but the ones I can see are amazing! I love the Lake Matheson one We went at a similar time (2.5 weeks and we left on the 26th March) - for our honeymoon - we had a 4 berth campervan and did pretty much the whole of the South Island and just loved every second of it. It such a beautiful place. You'll definately have to go back and do Milford Sound - its just amazing. Edited June 1, 2010 by wagsalot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) Can you see them now? If not I'll need to consult my pbase expert. Last two - Oystercatcher on beach at Kaikoura Wild Tui Bird in a forest reserve, around Richmond, Nelson. The Tui has a beautiful song. Some local conservationists have assembled branches with fruit nailed to them and fresh water and built a ramshackle bird hide to observe the local birds. The bush birds are very skittish (and very quick!). This male tui popped his head up when he heard my shutter click. Then he flew off and only came back for one more photo. They dart around so quickly, it's hard to photograph them. There are traps around to trap neighbourhood cats, feral stoats and feral brushtail possums as they are trying to increase the native bird population. Edited June 1, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:ange: Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Sorry Ripley still can't see them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macka Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) Twilight over Kaikoura Caravan Park Love this! Nice work Ripley! P.s I can see all the photos. Edited June 1, 2010 by macka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bella* Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Stunning photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:ange: Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I can see them now!! Yippee!! They are gorgeous! Makes me want to go bak right now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) Great, you can see them. I asked someone with a pbase account and they told me how to do it. I took a lot of images but won't bore you with anymore. Instead, you can have a look at them here if you are interested. NZ Trip, April 2010 (has some taken on Heron Island last year too but that's it, I'll be adding to it this weekend) http://www.pbase.com/camlyn Website is still a work in progress. Macka, thank you for your PM telling me about places in NZ. I note from your website you too visited the "seal" waterfall. I didn't have a fast enough lens and the 30D wasn't good enough at high ISO to capture the fast moving little buggas in the waterfall. On our way to the waterfall, I heard these loud noises and it sounded like kids playing in stream, but it was the seals. eta: macka, I didn't get to see a Kea parrot and I looked at the Fox and Franz Joseph carparks and around Mt Cook. We even hiked to "Kea Point" and not one kea. I was told they only come down to the carparks around winter when the mountains are covered in snow and food is harder to find. I'm jealous you managed a few lovely pics of them. I saw one fly by a distance away but we were at the pub having lunch then. Edited June 1, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macka Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Macka, thank you for your PM telling me about places in NZ. I note from your website you too visited the "seal" waterfall. I didn't have a fast enough lens and the 30D wasn't good enough at high ISO to capture the fast moving little buggas in the waterfall. On our way to the waterfall, I heard these loud noises and it sounded like kids playing in stream, but it was the seals. No worries. Wasn't that place just amazing? It was like some sort of fantasy land... a walk through a rainforest to find a beautiful waterfall FULL of baby seals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) FULL of baby seals! Hmm, well this one was a big baby. Probably a teenager. I wish I could have spent more time in Kaikoura as I wanted to do the swimming with the wild dusky dolphins - they take you out into the ocean and chuck you overboard and it's like, "Off you go, swim with them then!" If the dolphins grow bored of you, they just swim off. I would have done the Albatross Encounter where they take you out and chuck you to a scrum of huge Albatross (just joking, you go out on a boat to observe/photograph them). I would have also loved to have done a scuba dive with the fur seals too, and another whale watch trip in better conditions where I wasn't bashing up against the boat rail and trying not to be sick and if the weather was better. My husband was 'over' Kaikoura in the 2 full days/3 nights we had but I would love to go back there for an entire week. We stayed in a gorgeous B&B run by a French woman and her NZ partner. Kaikoura ia one of the most beautiful places I've been to in the entire world. Not many people, heaps of wildlife, stunning scenery and crystal clear air and water. Edited June 1, 2010 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redangel Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Great pics. Thanx for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottnBullies Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Beautiful shots, love those seal ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieselDog Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Beautiful pics!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest belgian.blue Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Truely amazing photos! I went to the South Island six years ago this August, stunning part of the world Also did a Fox Glacier three hour hike too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now