Back to albums list
Download

NZ 2015

by alan_r_humphrey

222 photos and 7 videos · 55 views
Milford Sound - cliffs to the south as 35 foot fishing vessel heads out toward Tasman Sea
Milford Sound - Stirling Falls
Milford Sound - Stirling Falls
Milford Sound - just outside the harbor. Flat stretch of rainforest has air strip cut into it.
Milford Sound - Cessna Caravan turboprop on approach to the air strip!
Milford Sound - looking north into drainage - several peaks in distance w/one snow capped peak emerging from clouds
Milford Sound - Bowen Falls & we've come full circle
Milford Sound Hwy - half moon enclosed by footbridge tower. This moon phase would become full, but in S hemisphere it's opposite & will soon be a new moon.
Milford Sound Hwy - rainforest track bathed in filtered sunlight
Lake Manapouri - Pearl Harbour - water taxi to West Arm Power Station
Lake Manapouri - coffee & cruising! The driver is off the clock!
Lake Manapouri - West Arm channel marker
Lake Manapouri - West Arm Power Station transmission lines
Lake Manapouri - West Arm Power Station
Doubtful Sound - Wilmot Pass - bus bridge between Lake Manapouri & Doubtful Sound
Doubtful Sound - Deep Cove harbor - Real Journeys scenic cruise vessel
Doubtful Sound - looking SE back toward Wilmot Pass
Doubtful Sound - looking NW through bridge windshields as captain pilots vessel up Malaspina Reach
Doubtful Sound - pod of dolphins swimming in vessel's wake!
Doubtful Sound - latte hue
Doubtful Sound - islands
Doubtful Sound - islands
Doubtful Sound - island w/Blanket Bay Hotel
Doubtful Sound - the "hotel" is a fisherman's refueling & supply cabin. The high dock to the right is actually used as a helicopter pad.
Doubtful Sound - the structure was built within the National Park boundary by using a loophole in the law involving tidal zone levels.
Doubtful Sound - at mouth to Tasman Sea. Flag shows Union Jack to represent British heritage & the 4 stars of the Southern Cross (Crux) to represent geographical location.
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm - weeping wall w/vertical entry at water level
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm & crooked smile
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm - rainforest rolling right down to the waterline
What! What!
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm - The captain shut off the engines for 2 minutes of complete silence. Just enough time to forget I was visiting & felt like I was part of something.
Doubtful Sound - Crooked Arm - engines restarted - sad to be heading back to Deep Cove harbor.
Doubtful Sound - Deep Cove harbor.
Lake Manapouri - back on the water taxi shuttling back to Pearl Harbour in the town of Manapouri.
What! What!
Manapouri Holiday Park - European style chalets
Manapouri Holiday Park - bus stop w/comical yet profound saying painted on the back.
Manapouri Holiday Park - numerous cabins & spacious tenting areas beyond.
Manapouri Holiday Park - quaint collections around the park sheltered by a variety of tall trees.
Manapouri Holiday Park - assorted vehicles around the property.
Nugget Point Lighthouse - on the SE coast of the South Island high above the Pacific Ocean
Nugget Point Lighthouse - iconic lands end on Otago coast at 46° South latitude
Nugget Point Lighthouse - constructed in 1870 & automated in 1989.
Nugget Point Lighthouse - only the half facing the Pacific Ocean was fitted w/glass & the side facing inland was covered to block the light
Nugget Point Lighthouse - the light now flashes 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on, & 6 seconds off.
Nugget Point lighthouse - in b&w, the Fresnel lens can be seen clearly through the glass
Nugget Point - observing historical markers
Nugget Point - named for the cluster of "nuggets" that pepper this peninsula.
Moeraki Boulders - Koekohe Beach - Otago Coast - Hwy 1 north of Dunedin
Moeraki Boulders - boulderdash!
Moeraki Boulders were formed beneath the surface & exposed by the surf over time.
Moeraki Boulders consist of mud, silt, & clay cemented by calcite
Moeraki Boulder - witness and ambassador
Aoraki / Mt. Cook National Park - from the ocean to the mountains in half a day
Sealy Tarns Track - notice the campsite at the head of the Hooker Valley (bottom left)
Sealy Tarns Track - paraglider over Hooker Valley
Mueller Lake - paraglider w/Hooker Lake & Glacier in the distance
Mt. Cook - 3724 meters or 12218 feet above sea level - the highest point in NZ
Mt. Cook - across the glacier carved valley - 2200 vertical step Sealy Tarns Track
Mt. Cook - a face within the face
Mt. Sefton - after tramping up the 2200 step track, we were directly across from the peak & its snow covered cliffs
Mt. Sefton selfie - Sealy Tarns Lookout
What! What!
Mt. Sefton - next morning bright & early
Hooker Lake Track - 1 of 3 swing bridges on morning tramp to watch Mt. Cook awaken
Mueller Lake outlet crossing - 1 of 3
Mt Sefton in morning sun - Mueller Lake still in the shadows
Hooker Bluff crossing - 2 of 3
Mt. Cook - sleeping in - shhhh
Mt. Cook - an elevating experience
Hooker Lake outlet crossing 3 of 3 - Mt. Cook waking to the warmth of the morning sun
Mt. Cook presiding over Hooker Lake & Glacier
Mt. Cook - end of Hooker Lake Track
What! What!
Tasman Lake Track - next morning
Tasman Lake & Tasman Glacier
Tasman River valley lookout - saying goodbye to the high country
Lake Pukaki south shore on Hwy 8 looking north - bye bye high country
Valley Brewing Company - Hwy 79 & Gualter Rd - perfect stop between Mt. Cook & ChCh. Red October hit the spot
Woodend - Pegasus Bay at sunset - just north of ChCh. Thanks to the couple from Kennewick, WA (we met in Manapouri) for the tip!
The sound of the surf was a constant & thunderous crashing as far as the eye could see
Quattro Cafe, ChCh - on Cashel just west of Fitzgerald - great eggs bene & long black, but the friendliness was best!
Gore Bay - Pacific Ocean halfway between ChCh & Kiakoura
Gore Bay - Red October growlers from Valley Brewing Company!
What! What!
Mmm . . . Red October
Gore Bay - Port Robinson Pt
Highway 1 - approaching Kiakoura - driver is almost off the clock!
Hwy 1 northbound - Pacific Ocean - coming into Kiakoura
Kiakoura - train station / whale watching cruise booking center next to ocean w/brutish mountains in background
Kiakoura - Kiwi Rail # 5172 prepares to lead the Coastal Pacific out of the station heading south to ChCh
Kiakoura - # 5172 in latte hue
Kiakoura - apple cider w/fish & chips
Waipapa Bay - Crawfish & Camp - rail line perched between Hwy 1 & Pacific Ocean
Waipapa Bay tidepool - when I turned over this abalone shell, it revealed 3 crabs!
Waipapa Bay tidepool - can you find 5 crabs?
Waipapa Bay tidepools - mussels in the cut
Waipapa Bay tidepools - very Monterey-ish!
The biggest crab in the tide pool!
2