Fernweh

We traveled to New Zealand, non-stop from the west coast of the United States to Auckland, then made our way through the airport and transferred to a plane for the short flight to the beautiful town of Queensland on the South Island. While we anticipated lots of natural beauty, the South Island over-delivered, with postcard views in all directions. The distances are moderate, the roads are in good condition, and it was easy to find reasonably-priced places to stay.

We took a beautiful afternoon hike up to Hooker Lake in time to watch the light change over Aoraki / Mt Cook as the sun set. It’s a serene and sublime way to spend an afternoon. Aoraki is the highest peak in New Zealand at over 12,200ft (3,724m).

Although the hike is about 10km / 6.5miles in length, it’s fairly easy as there’s not much elevation gain along the trail. Coming back down in the dark after the sun set was an adventure, but we all made it safely back to our cars for the ride back to our motel.

McLean Falls

In the southeast corner of the South Island, on the Tautuku River, are upper and lower McLean Falls. These are some of the most beautiful waterfalls that you’ll see anywhere, surrounded by lush forest.

As these things typically go, you first come to the lower falls, perhaps ten minutes along the trail. Continue on a bit more and you’ll see the upper falls.

Seacoast

Given that we were on an island, there were plenty of opportunities to spend time along the coast – and many of them were unusual and photogenic.

The Moeraki Boulders are large (in some cases, more than 5 feet in diameter) and nearly spherical. They are made of mud, silt, and clay, held together by calcite, and they are partially exposed in the sand of the beach on the Otago coast. We were lucky enough to visit during a stormy sunset; for just a few moments, the sky and clouds lit a dramatic purple color.

Next stop, Chile! Also on the southeastern coast is the Nugget Point Lighthouse, first lit in 1870. Looking out from this vantage point, the only thing in front of you is the entire vast South Pacific ocean.

(The “Nuggets” are the rock formations just off the coast.)

That Wanaka Tree

If you’ve thought about traveling to New Zealand to take pictures, you’ve probably heard of the Wanaka Tree. Well… us too! And we just had to take our own picture of what is probably the most-photographed tree in the world. Unfortunately, the water level was a bit low to get a perfect reflection, but I think it turned out ok nonetheless. At least the sky cooperated!