Thirteen Photos of New Zealand
I thought I’d do a photo blog today, introducing you to some of my favorite parts of New Zealand. Unfortunately, I lost quite a few of my South Island photos when our computer crashed last year. It’s a good excuse to make a return visit, I think!
1. Wellington – this photo is taken from the top of Mt. Victoria looking down on the central city and waterfront. The stadium (the round thing) is the home of the Hurricane rugby team.
2. This is Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, not far from inner Wellington. They have many rare and endangered birds here. The birds are free to fly in and out, but the entire sanctuary is surrounded by possum proof fencing to keep these and other pests out. The lake was originally a reservoir for the city. When it was no longer requried, the area was restored to forest and wetlands.
3. This is Rangitoto Island, the youngest of the dormant volcanoes in and around Auckland. The distinct cone is visible from many parts of the city. This shot is taken off a boat on the harbor.
4. This is Middlemarch. It’s a small country town in the South Island and the setting for my Middlemarch Mates series. This is a shot of the typical country surrounding the town. Look closely and you might spy one of the Mitchells…
5. This is Lady Knox geyser, not far from Rotorua in the North Island. It was discovered by a prisoner work party. They were sent to do their washing in the warm water of the thermal stream and some of their soap dropped into a crack. The next minute a lot of foam bubbled up and then it exploded with prisoners and washing flying in all directions. When I visited as a kid, you could stand under the geyser as it erupted with the warm water raining down on you. These days visitors have to watch from afar. The geyser plays most days after the guide puts soap inside the funnel. It’s a very interesting process to watch.
6. Huka Falls – the Waikato river (the longest river in NZ) exits Lake Taupo (the largest lake). Huka Falls is not far from Taupo and there is a beautiful bush walk to get to it.
7. Goat Island Marine Reserve – not far north of Auckland. It’s a marine reserve that’s popular with divers and snorkellers. You can also paddle off the beach and huge snapper swim around your legs. Personally, I didn’t like the look of their teeth and felt safer looking down from the rocks! This is a popular day trip for families.
8. Waiotapu, one of the thermal regions near Rotorua. This is the beautiful Champagne pool. The colors don’t show that well in the photo but they are terracotta and turquoise. Very pretty. The day we were there the wind came up blowing steam around and spoiling the photo.
9. This is a shot of central Auckland from the harbor. You can make out the Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere. The Sky Tower is mentioned in my book Summer in the City of Sails.
10. This is a shot of the crater of Mt Eden in Auckland and some of the city looking out to the sea. Many people go up the Sky tower to get views of the city, but I think it’s hard to beat the view from the top of Mt. Eden. And it’s free! If you look closely you can make out people standing deep in the crater. Look for the colored dots.
11. This is Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. It’s a beautiful spot and a place that’s also mentioned in some of my Middlemarch Mates books. It’s the heart of adventure sports in New Zealand and tourists flock here to scare themselves silly.
12. Mt Cook – New Zealand’s tallest mountain and part of the Southern Alps range. I used this as the setting in Stray Cat Strut.
13. This is a shot of the Kaikoura mountains, north of Christchurch in the South Island. This area is known for whale watching and is one of the few places where you can watch whales all year round.
And a shot of one of the whales.
Do you have any questions about New Zealand?
Related posts:
March 26th, 2009 at 3:39 am · Link
Beautiful pictures, Shelley.
March 26th, 2009 at 3:46 am · Link
What gorgeous pics, Shelley. I especially love the pics of the mountains. (I have a weakness for those, y’see.)
Thanks for sharing those – it was like a mini photo tour! :)
Happy TT!
Ciao!
March 26th, 2009 at 4:43 am · Link
What a great place to live and a wonderful setting for your books. The pictures are beautiful.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:05 am · Link
Beautiful pictures – NZ is on my list of dream holidays – I’ll get there one day
http://holisticknitter.blogspot.com/2009/03/thirteen-flowers-and-flowering-shrubs.html
March 26th, 2009 at 5:36 am · Link
Beautiful photos.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:19 am · Link
Gorgeous pix. One day I’m invading NZ and Australia. And if the sharks aren’t too active, I might try surfing.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:29 am · Link
Awesome post, Shelley! I love NZ and haven’t even been yet!
My one sister went for a two week holiday last year and loved it.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:54 am · Link
Oooooo those are STUNNING Shelley! It really makes me wish I could go to NZ.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:07 am · Link
Oh how beautiful. I can see why you love NZ.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:09 am · Link
Those are amazing pics Shelley! Thank you for sharing them
March 26th, 2009 at 7:38 am · Link
Beautiful, stunning, amazing pics!!
March 26th, 2009 at 8:16 am · Link
Wow! Those are some awesome shots. Have you ever submitted them to a travel magazine. They’re really amazing.
Happy T13!
March 26th, 2009 at 8:34 am · Link
What beautiful photos! Makes me want to visit NZ!
March 26th, 2009 at 8:39 am · Link
Wow that’s so purteh. I want to go please… lol
March 26th, 2009 at 8:42 am · Link
No wonder you chose Middlemarch as a setting for so many of your books. It’s an interesting landscape.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:31 am · Link
My only question is if you’ll be available to take me to see all these places in person… I SO need to. Especially that volcano with the grassy inside.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:53 am · Link
Beautiful, beautiful pictures. The waterfall picture blew me away. The color of the water was to die for. I now understand the beauty of your country. Thank you for the pictures. Have a great day.
March 26th, 2009 at 10:18 am · Link
Everytime I see pictures of New Zealand, I think of Lord Of The Rings. :) Beautiful pictures, Shelley. *Hugs*
March 26th, 2009 at 10:21 am · Link
So beautiful! I want to go to NZ someday…
March 26th, 2009 at 11:02 am · Link
Those are beautiful pics! I always think how beautiful New Zealand looks when we watch LOTR!
*hugs*
Paige
My TT is at http://tinyurl.com/4zejcp
March 26th, 2009 at 11:37 am · Link
Beautiful pics, Shelley! I especially like 4, 7, 8, and 11.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:08 pm · Link
Susan – I’ve booked you in my tour book. Just let me know the days.
My husband used to drive a cab and he’d take visitors to the top of Mt Eden. It really is a fabulous view and it’s interesting looking down into the crater of the volcano.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pm · Link
So beautiful! :)
March 26th, 2009 at 1:29 pm · Link
Great pictures. I would love to visit New Zealand someday.
March 26th, 2009 at 2:12 pm · Link
Great pics, I really enjoyed this blog. NZ is on the list of places I’ve yet to visit, but really want to see. It sounds so diverse in terms of natural sites to see.
March 26th, 2009 at 2:12 pm · Link
ooh. Great pictures. #11 and #12 are my favorites.
Shh, don’t tell anyone. But I’ve wanted to go to NZ since Xena, LOL
March 26th, 2009 at 3:04 pm · Link
Shanna – the scenery is very diverse and interesting. It’s a lot bigger than it looks as well. Anyone coming to visit should not expect to see everything in both islands in a week. A lot of visitors think they can do that!
Lanie – Xena, Hercules and the Lord of the Ring movies have done great things for NZ tourism. There are a lot of overseas film companies shooting their movies here now because of the diversity of scenery.
March 26th, 2009 at 4:54 pm · Link
The pictures are beautiful. I wish I could see some of those up close. In fact I think my list of places to travel to just increased by one. ;)
March 26th, 2009 at 5:00 pm · Link
Love the pics! Thanks for sharing.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:25 pm · Link
Wow. Those take my breath away!
March 26th, 2009 at 6:02 pm · Link
Beautiful pictures. A number of those look familiar, like they were scenes from The Bachelor here in the States.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:11 pm · Link
Absolutely beautiful…Id love to go there some day
Happy TT and thanks for stopping by.
March 26th, 2009 at 10:23 pm · Link
NZ is a beautiful place. I can see why you want to go back.
Happy TT.
Janice~