On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Dagaetch
After two months in Southeast Asia, I was eager to get out of large cities, away from the crowds and the heat and the noise. New Zealand had always been the next intended destination. I was able to find a flight that, with a brief layover in Singapore, took me to Christchurch on the south island.
Whenever I get asked if I had a favorite place from this trip, without hesitation, I will immediately say New Zealand. The natural beauty is simply beyond comparison. I spent a month there with a rental car, driving around, and…I still miss it, honestly. I enjoyed almost all of my destinations on this trip, but NZ is the one place that I would go back to without a single moment of hesitation or even planning. And I’m making you all relive it with me over the next four posts :).
I spent a couple of days in Christchurch getting my legs under me, arranging a rental car for the next month, and generally adjusting to a very different environment. While there, I connected with a local photographer through a shared forum, and he was kind enough to drive me around to some favorite spots and give me some tips on where to go. This image, one of the first I took in NZ, was a most excellent start to my time.
The Church of the Good Shepherd in the Lake Tekapo region was on my way to my next destination, so I stopped for a stretch and a photo. It struck me as a place that would be very conducive to worship; peaceful and contemplative.
(These aren’t in strict chronological order, sorry.) I drove a loop known as the Southern Scenic Route, while granting myself permission to turn off wherever I felt like it. This is McLean Falls on the Tautuku River in Catlins Forest Park, and I spent a delightful hour there playing with my camera and just enjoying the scenery.
The Moeraki Boulders are very cool. This was maybe 4 days into my drive around the country, and I was thoroughly enjoying the freedom to just go places and see things, no real planning required.
My first ‘destination’ after leaving Christchurch was Aoraki/Mt Cook (specifically, the hostel there). There’s a single road into the park, and it wasn’t heavily traveled. Here, I pulled my car over to the side and set up a tripod in the middle of the road. I love this image, and have a large print in my hallway. It was very emblematic of how I felt at that particular point in my journey; an open horizon in front of me, with only the journey to contemplate.
The entire Mt Cook park is, of course, phenomonal. I wasn’t equipped for (or honestly interested in) any serious hiking, but this was a mere 45 minutes or so walk from the hostel where I was staying. After the intensity of Southeast Asia, the open quietitude here was a relief; I could feel myself loosening up and regaining some of my equilibrium.
Also Mt Cook. It doesn’t come across beautifully at lower resolutions, but the sheer scale of everything was impressive. So many things, all visible at once.
This picture was literally taken from the side of the road. And that would continue to be my experience in NZ; so much beauty, so completely accessible. And fortunately, the roads were relatively low traffic, so my constant head turned and slow going didn’t have any negative impact!
Another photo at the side of the road. I was tooling along, behind a truck if memory serves, when I casually glanced to the side and saw this epic scene. Spent the next 10 minutes trying to turn the car around and go back. I absolutely adore these grand sweeping moments, when your entire field of vision is encompassed with natural beauty and a sense of the timelessness, and power, of the Earth.
CCL
Gasp! So beautiful. Thank you for helping start the day in beauty
raven
Incredible! Did you happen to go to Stewart Island? I’ve seen video of the ferry crossing and it is treacherous!
Manyakitty
Wow, NZ has always been a bucket list destination for me. Amazing pictures!!
Manyakitty
Deleted- wrong post.
Kristine
Gorgeous photos! Looking forward to the rest.
NZ is on my list, and I’d love to do it the way you did.
Elma
I feel exactly the same about New Zealand. I would go back in a minute and stay forever, if they would let me.
Nelle
New Zealand is my soul’s home and I would still be living there, if not for family responsibilities here. My son, who attended secondary school there, said it was where he found his authentic self. We are planning to be there next Southern summer (likely February). You got some great photos of my favorite places on the South Island. I lived on the North Island, in Taupo.
Albatrossity
Thanks for these. NZ is indescribable, but these images come close. And yes, the best way to see it is to rent a vehicle and drive it. We’ve been there four times, and each time we’ve explored a different part of the country by traveling the roads and staying in interesting places that are not among the typical tourist destinations. As you say, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
And yes, raven, the ferry crossing to Stewart Island can be horrendous. Our trip to the island was into the teeth of an Antarctic wind that buffeted the boat and made just about everyone seasick. I’ve never been seasick in my life, but this was the closest I ever got! The trip back was calm and delightful, however!
My friend Colin Miskelly, the bird curator at Te Papa, the national museum in Wellington, has put together a blog series entitled Birds of the Great Walks of Aotearoa, documenting his hikes and birding along some of the legendary hiking trails of that country. They have great scenery pics, and, of course, birds! If you look carefully you might find one of my pictures among the bird shots :-)
Dagaetch
@raven: I did not go to Stewart Island; can’t remember if there was a specific reason, or just a function of timing. Another on the long list of reasons to go back!
@Nelle: I made it to Taupo! Only for an overnight, but I remember walking along the shore and thinking it was a very lovely place.
raven
@Dagaetch: Thanks, it seems like it would take a great deal of effort!
Torrey
I echo CCL’s opening comment: “Gasp!” sums it up. Thank you for these wonderful photos and the accompanying travelogue. Looking forward to the next set.
eclare
The last photo, wow! But all are gorgeous, thank you.
oatler
Stunning scenery! One could film a movie there…
Denali5
Thanks for the beautiful photos. Brings back wonderful memories. And New Zealand is so easy- easy driving, especially. We just returned from a trip to Hungary, and while it is a beautiful country, Hungarian drivers are insane. And don’t get me started about pay toilets!
Chris T.
Mt Cook, or Aoraki / Aorangi (it has two different pronunciations and spellings in Māori, as the north and south island languages drifted apart), tends to be hidden away in a cloud most of the time. It’s also really impressive from the west side, though I’ve only seen it in photos that someone got on a clear day. The particular day I was in the park itself (as opposed to “somewhere I could see towards the mountain”) there were three low-pressure systems swirling about, making the weather utterly unpredictable except for “probably wet”. 😀🌧🌈
Living up here just outside Bellingham is the closest I’ve come to the feeling of being around the Lake Wanaka area. The hills / mountains here are not as tall and the vegetation is a bit different but the lakes, and the clouds clinging to the hillsides, are reminiscent of that last photo…
Chris T.
@Albatrossity: Did you see the news that a bunch of takahē have been released on the south island? When I was there on my first trip I saw one at the sanctuary in Te Anau, and read about how they were thought to be extinct way back in the late 1890s. Then in 1948, someone stumbled across a few in the Murchison Mountains…
lee
Earlier this year (March) we took a 2 week trip to NZ. We stayed on the north island. The trip was 100% for my youngest. She wanted her first beer to be at The Green Dragon in Hobbiton (which we did).
Of all the places we traveled, NZ is the only place my wife said ‘I’d move here today if we could’.
Albatrossity
@Chris T.: I did see that! It wasn’t clear from what I read (I think it was in The Guardian) if the release area will have enhanced predator-trapping efforts; I imagine that predator control is still problematic in most of NZ outside of the fenced sanctuaries.
The first Takahē I ever saw was in captivity at Mt. Bruce in 1991; at the time there were only a few dozen left on the planet. When we saw two adults and two chicks on Maud Island in 2014, that group constituted over 1% of the population at the time (about 300). It is a great success story so far, and I hope it continues!
Denali5
I did not know of the existence of the Takahe when we were there. I did see one sad kiwi in a private indoor park. It is easy to understand how flightless birds are easy prey for cats and small mammals. I did miss the presences of squirrels in the forests, but it is a trade off that is worth it for these unique birds.
cope
Wonderful pictures of spectacular places I likely will never visit so, thank you. When I was in college in the late ’60s, early ’70s, one of my geology profs took his sabbatical semester in New Zealand. I remember being absolutely stunned at the beauty and variety of beauty when he made a slide show presentation of his trip. He and his wife, too, made it a “fly there, rent a car for a month” kind of trip. Added bonus: spectacular geology.
Thanks again.
Wombat Probability Cloud
@raven: We were there several years ago, and when things slow down a bit I’ll get in contact with WaterGirl to post some pix here. Our ferry crossings were fairly smooth, but despite the ample size of the ferry it was clear that it would get tossed around when things get rough.
way2blue
Dagaetch. I love your wide shots—they really capture the sweep of the landscapes. I too visited New Zealand. Just after graduating college. My brother & I spent a month crossing the North & South Islands with backpacks. Via train mostly. Since we visited in December, we hadn’t anticipated rain & snow (!). So we improvised… The ground tarp as a tent, our packs as tent poles, our hiking boots as tent ‘pegs’. Little kids would peek in—to see the goofy American travelers. I remember friendly Kiwis—stopping to give us rides as we walked along the road. Thoroughly charmed that we’d made their country a destination.
Origuy
There’s a show called Men in Kilts streaming on Starz, with two of the stars of Outlander, Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish. It’s a travel series; they did the first season in Scotland. McTavish now lives in New Zealand and they are doing a second season in New Zealand. The first episode featured a bunch of adrenaline raising activities like ziplining. The second episode was all about the Maori culture. It’s a lot of fun and the scenery is gorgeous.
BigJimSlade
Beautiful!
Anyway
spectacular pictures, gorgeous locations … jealous … :D
Yutsano
I have friends bugging the shit out of me to come visit! I’m gonna have to get Kiwiville checked off my list at some point. Not in the immediate as there are some fluid job things right now, but once the things are settled then I can make some kind of commitment to going.
Ruckus
I did a 3 week motorcycle tour of New Zealand back 20 yrs ago. I’ve traveled to 46 states and 3 continents and a few of the Caribbean islands, including Cuba. I’ve crossed the Atlantic 6 times, been way north of the Arctic Circle and almost to the equator. I didn’t and won’t ever see everything but I’ve seen a lot and New Zealand is likely my favorite place on this planet. I stopped on the west coast to see a tropical forest and walked through it to see a beautiful meadow and have a hand painted picture that looks just like it, by my sister who never set foot on the island. I am one lucky human to have been so privileged to experience the travel that I have and meet so many people from so many corners of the world.
Ruckus
@Ruckus:
Our motorcycle tour went from Auckland to the southern tip of the south island down the eastern seaboard and back up the western side, back to Auckland. 3500 miles in total, every single one of them enjoyable. I looked into moving there but it just wasn’t going to happen. I’ve been to 3 continents, traveled rather extensively in all of them (46 states and 3 countries in this one) and New Zealand is my favorite place on the planet. I’ve heard so many languages I could be a guide at the UN. (Couldn’t speak more than a word of many of them, likely not any words now but I’ve heard them.) This world has beauty, sometimes more than one can imagine. It has less than beauty as well, and we all see that from time to time. But we owe it to each other to maintain that beauty in our world, not tear it down, destroy it needlessly, to be the best we can be, to leave this world better than we found it. I’m lucky, I’ve gotten to be creative to a degree, I’ve built my own furniture, I’ve made tools that created objects that most of us have seen so often that we don’t even normally think about them much at all. Bring joy, not hate, joy is better.
JCNZ
When you come back, make sure you come to Waiheke Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland. You think mainland New Zealand is beautiful?! We have a spare bedroom, Jackals always welcome. Watergirl has my email.
currawong
Lovely photos. We’ve only been to NZ once where we did the Queenstown-Dunedin-Christchurch loop.
One of the great landing approaches, flying into Queentown involves flying down a vally to the airport with mountains rising up either side.