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Day 10 Queenstown
Today, very sadly is my last day here in beautiful Queenstown. What a memorable trip! I have some of the most incredible shots from around the south island. I can’t wait to get home and do a bit of post producing on them and load them to this website.
This morning began early for me. I was up before dawn and headed to Coronet Peak (a mountain 15 mins from Queenstown). From here I shot some amazing star shots with the glow of Queenstown below. I used the magic Nikon 14-24mm lens and to say I’m happy with the shots I got is an understatement. I then shot sunrise shots including panoramas with The Remarkables in them.
I then had breakfast at a cute little café in Arrowtown. I love Arrowtown, if you’re ever visiting here in Queenstown it’s worth the drive out to experience it, make sure you visit the bakery 😉
It was then back to Queenstown where I did some experimenting with my GoPro (photos and timelapse videos) and threw on the monster Nikon 80–400mm lens on the D800 and got some wildlife shots.
This trip will go down as one of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve seen mother nature in all her glory, easily some of the most spectacular mountain scenery ever and of course I was engaged to my beautiful soul mate Kristy. Life is so good! Get out there and make the most it. As Ferris Bueller said, “blink and you might just miss it.”
Take care, and until next time.
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Day 9 Queenstown
Glorious sunrise this morning. Incredible colours of pink and purple as the sun came up over The Remarkables.
Well after getting engaged yesterday and a long night of celebrating I took it easy today and just cruised around the Queenstown area itself with the camera.
I mostly took shots over in the botanic gardens area and did a lot with the GoPro today in terms of time lapse videos. Look forward to putting them together when I get home.
Finished the day off with casual cruise on the TSS Earnslaw (a 100 year old steam ship) across Lake Wakatipu with my new fiancé. Perfect end to another wonderful day here.
Last day tomorrow. So sad to be leaving but will make the absolute most of my last day shooting.
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Day 7 Queenstown
Well, it had to happen and today was the day. Snow! Yes, I awoke to beautiful snow showers sprinkling across Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables. The whole of the town took on this magical glow. I live in a tropical climate so experiencing snow for me is special.
After a huge breakfast I headed out to Arrowtown, about 20 minutes away from Queenstown. Here I found early settler houses and a main street filled with incredible character. There’s the old Chinese settlement from the gold rush days, with huts so small you WOULD hit a cat if you did swing it! Goodness knows how they survived in those tiny huts during the snow of winter. They made for some great photos in the snow.
In the evening I went to Queenstown’s botanical gardens and got some terrific shots around a water fountain that changed colour.
I love Queenstown so much. There’s something about it I connect with so well. Maybe it’s the mixture of adventure and beautiful scenery? All I know is I feel like I’m home when here.
I think it’s time for a delicious Patagonia’s hot chocolate. See you all tomorrow 🙂
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Day 6 Queenstown
Another long day of driving 6 hours to and from Milford Sound from Queenstown, but it is SO worth it! Picture perfect day for weather once again and mother nature turned it on for me as I drove into Te Anau, the entry towards Milford Sound.
I got shots of ice caked rocks with rushing water coming down rivers. Early morning mist on long sweeping plains, waterfalls, plants frozen solid, panoramas of misty snow capped mountains. For the first time I witnessed an avalanche at Homer Tunnel. It was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. Needless to say I didn’t stick around long after that and continued on to Milford pronto.
Milford Sound is so beautiful, a natural fiord carved by an ancient glacier. It’s filled with wildlife, tall snow capped mountains and crystal clear blue water. I am so happy with the shots I got and can’t wait to get home and see them on my large computer screen. While travelling out of the sound I had my GoPro mounted on the front of the Milford Sovereign ship I was travelling on. Got some interesting shots with it.
Well, tomorrow I think I’ll take a break and cruise for while. See where the wind takes me. To be honest you can point you camera anywhere here in and around Queenstown and you’re pretty much guaranteed a great shot 🙂
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Day 5 Queenstown
Such a beautiful day today. Started out a little cloudy, but quickly cleared up to reveal stunning mountain ranges covered in snow.
I decided to head to Glenorchy today. A little town about 45 minutes away from Queenstown. The mountains here are just stunning and combined with the aqua blue water of Lake Wakatipu made for some great shots.
From here I headed to a place called Paradise. This is one of my favourite places in the world because of it’s diverse landscape elements. Lakes, wildlife, forest, waterfalls, long sweeping plains, and mountains. Of course it is here that I am in my element. I almost filled my camera memory card for the first time on this trip. I was salivating as I saw the most amazing gifts of nature. Snow frosted plants. mirrored snowy mountains in lakes, rock solid frozen grass with icicles and suns rays streaming through tall ancient forest trees.
What a magnificent trip it has been so far. So much fun, wonderful weather and getting some great shots along the way. Tomorrow is Milford Sound. I’m going to try out my new Nikon 80-400mm lens and hopefully get some good wildlife shots 🙂
NEVER STOP CREATING
