Stirling Falls, Milford Sound

Milford Sound in the South Island of New Zealand runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on either side. Among the peaks are The Elephant at 1,517 metres (4,977 ft), said to resemble an elephant's head, and The Lion, 1,302 metres (4,272 ft), in the shape of a crouching lion. Lush rain forests cling precariously to these cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters and whales can be seen sometimes.

Milford Sound sports two permanent waterfalls all year round, Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls. After heavy rain however, many hundreds of temporary waterfalls can be seen running down the steep sided rock faces that line the fiord. They are fed by rain water drenched moss and will last a few days at most once the rain stops.

Lake Pukaki

The South Island of New Zealand must have the highest concentration of scenic landscapes and for a photographer trying to drive this is very distracting. I found myself stopping very frequently to run out the car with my camera gear to capture another wonderful vista. This beautiful lake here is Lake Pukaki which is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand's South Island. The others are Lakes Tekapo and Ohau. All three lakes were created when the terminal moraines of receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys, forming moraine-dammed lakes. The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers. Lake Pukaki covers an area of 178.7 km², and the surface elevation of the lake normally ranges from 518.2 to 532 metres above sea level.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor)^]and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World

The Remarkables

The Remarkables are the name of the mountains surrounding Lake Wakatipu just outside Queenstown in the South Island, New Zealand. Reading Trey Ratcliff's recent blog inspired me to go back through my New Zealand images and rediscovered this image.

This shot was taken from the top of Bob's Peak overlooking Queenstown which you can easily get to using the Skyline gondola.

Flight Over Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers

If you visit the South Island of New Zealand a "must see visit" is to take one of the helicopter flights over the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers on the west side of Mount Cook. The snow fields high above the glaciers are incredible and we had the opportunity to land at one spot and exit the chopper to take some photographs in the dazzling bright light reflecting off the snow.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.

To get to Milford Sound in the South Island of New Zealand requires a fairly long drive from Queenstown via Te Anau but is one of the most beautiful drives you will experience. Once you get to the end of the road at the upper reaches of the fjord there is nothing much there other than the spectacular view so many people simply make it a day trip and drive back. We decided to do an overnight cruise through the fjord on the Milford Mariner which again was a wonderful experience and highly recommended.

Retreat of The Glaciers

The Franz Josef (Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere in Māori) is a 12 km long glacier located in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Together with the Fox Glacier 20 km to the south, it is unique in descending from the Southern Alps to less than 300 metres above sea level, amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest.

The area surrounding the two glaciers is part of Te Wahipounamu, a World Heritage Site park. The river emerging from the glacier terminal of Franz Josef is known as the Waiho River.

As many other glaciers around the globe this glacier is receding and based on past variations, scientists expect that Franz Josef Glacier will retreat 5 km and lose 38% of its mass by 2100 in a mid-range scenario of warming. I compared my photos of the Franz Josef glacier, taken in October 2006, with some photos taken by Trey Ratcliff in March, 2010 and could certainly notice that the glacier has receded in this time.

Church of the Good Shepherd

Situated on the shores of Lake Tekapo, New Zealand is the Church of the Good Shepherd, which, in 1935, was the first church built in the Mackenzie Basin to the glory of God and as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie Country. The church at Lake Tekapo was designed by Christchurch architect R.S.D. Harman, based on sketches by a local artist, Esther Hope. The church is arguably one of the most photographed in New Zealand, and features an altar window that frames stunning views of the lake and mountains.

Lake Tekapo is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau). It covers an area of 83 square kilometres (32 sq mi), and is at an altitude of 700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level.