Days 9-11: Makarora and Fox Glacier etc, New Zealand – December 2015.

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Day 9-11. Makarora and Fox Glacier etc, South Island – New Zealand.

Onwards…
More from Otago, plus some from West Coast. As is the case with all holidays, the end comes too soon.

This last post includes images from Blue Pools on the Makarora River, the Whataroa River, Fox Glacier, and Lake Hawea (near The Neck).

Dusk settles over the Southern Alps at Makarora.

Makarora 2AM-000934.
©Andrew McInnes

Makarora River 2AM-000931.
©Andrew McInnes

Makarora River 2AM-000930.
©Andrew McInnes

The stunning, and frigid, Blue Pools.

Blue Pools – Makarora River 2AM-000916.
©Andrew McInnes

Blue Pools – Makarora River 2AM-000914.
©Andrew McInnes

Happy hour 🙂
Cold beers and conversation in and alongside the Makarora River.

Makarora 2AM-000539.
©Andrew McInnes

A Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), in the honeyeater family, foraging on New Zealand flax (Phormium sp.).

Tui 2AM-004945.
©Andrew McInnes

Dawn over the Southern Alps at Fox Glacier – includes Aoraki / Mount Cook.

Fox Glacier 2AM 1002-4 HDR.
©Andrew McInnes

Fox Glacier 2AM-000957. ©Andrew McInnes

Fox Glacier 2AM-000981.
©Andrew McInnes

Fox Glacier 2AM-000988.
©Andrew McInnes

Fox Glacier 2AM-000993.
©Andrew McInnes

Fox Glacier 2AM-000995.
©Andrew McInnes

The Neck 2AM-000537 iPhone panorama.
©Andrew McInnes

Whataroa River 2AM 1024-1029 panorama.
©Andrew McInnes

Whataroa River 2AM-001017.
©Andrew McInnes

I hope you enjoyed this and the previous posts of my images from a fantastic holiday in New Zealand.

Cheers 🙂

Day 8 – Fiordland and Cascade Creek, New Zealand – December 2015

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Ah, to have more time to explore and be awed by Fiordland National Park! And a revisit in late winter/early spring is in order too.
We ventured along the Te Anau – Milford Highway, to hike the Key Summit, a day-hike portion of the Routeburn Track, beginning at The Divide. Spectacular!

Here is a portion of the view from the end of Key Summit.

Routeburn Track 2AM 0796-0800 panorama. ©Andrew McInnes

Hiking (“tramping” in NZ) up to Key Summit.

Routeburn Track 2AM-000788. ©Andrew McInnes

A loo with a view – sort of.

Routeburn Track 2AM-000814. ©Andrew McInnes

Driving into Fiordland National Park in the morning we noticed a field of lupins and thought that it would be worth a look on the way out that evening. What a beautiful scene it turned out to be!

This is Cascade Creek, along the Te Anau-Milford Hwy.

Cascade Creek 2AM 0827-0832 Panorama. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM 0842-0843 panorama. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000819. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000844. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000863. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000865. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000889. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000835. ©Andrew McInnes

Cascade Creek 2AM-000818. ©Andrew McInnes

I hope you like lupins 😉
Thanks for viewing my images.

Cheers 🙂

Day 7: The Catlins, New Zealand – December 2015.

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Day 7 – The spectacular Catlins area, South Island – New Zealand.

Spectacular, diverse, ever-changing – we drove through beautiful rural scenes, along a rugged coast, saw a few more yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions, a couple of lighthouses, and low tide allowed us to walk among a 180 million year old petrified Jurassic forest – one of only three such accessible fossil forests in the world! All this and so much more we couldn’t fit in 😦

Nugget Point Lighthouse, built in 1869-70. A place of spectacular views, many rocky islets (The Nuggets), and much wildlife.

Nugget Point Lighthouse 2AM 0739-0744 Panorama_edit

To be able to view, and even walk among a petrified forest in the intertidal zone at low tide was remarkable. There are both stumps and fallen trees, petrified, with some growth rings plainly visible. This is but a sampling of the numerous specimens at Curio Bay.
Curio Bay is of international significance for its fossilised forest dating back to the Jurassic period. The tree fossils you see here are 160 million years old and the forest was alive when New Zealand was part of Gondwanaland. (source: The Catlins New Zealand website).

Four images of the Waipapa Point Lighthouse. This is the site of New Zealand’s worst civilian shipwreck. In 1881 the SS Tararua ran aground on Waipapa Reef and 131 of 151 passengers and crew died. The lighthouse, built after the disaster, stands as a poignant reminder. (source: Southern Scenic Route website).