New Zealand’s South Island – a Photo Tour!

Situated on the west coast of the island, hours from the nearest town, this is a view of Milford Sound … described as “New Zealand’s wild side at its absolute best.” Carved by glaciers during the ice ages, British writer and poet Rudyard Kipling called it the “eighth wonder of the world.”

Using that as an introduction, here’s the source of these superb pictures! Some time back, our friend John Wicoff told me he had just returned from an extended tour of the south island of the “down under” nation of New Zealand. Knowing the quality of his photo work, I suggested he send me some of the pictures and I’d share them with you … what we’re doing in this Musings. In total, I’ve received more than one hundred digital images … far more than I could begin to include in a single post.

First, let me share a little about New Zealand in case you are not familiar with the country. It is Australia’s smaller neighbor and is made up of two distinct islands, simply called the North Island and the South Island. My wife Alicia and I had the pleasure of touring the North Island back in 1979, but due to lost reservations, we missed out on visiting the southern half, deemed the more unique and “old worldly” by many who have been there.

The two islands are separated by nearly 14 miles of water, so to travel between the two is a three-and-a-half hour ferry ride. Ferries run from Wellington –– situated on the southern tip of the northern island and is the nation’s capital –– to Picton on the South Island. Our tour begins on the island’s rugged west coast, bordering on the Tasman Sea.

The highest mountain in what’s known as the Southern Alps is Mount Cook. Take a look at these snow-capped jagged peaks, along with the icebergs in Tasman Lake in Mount Cook National Park.

Queenstown is a resort community of 16,000 situated on the southwest coast of the island. Then, crossing over to the southeastern coastal region … Nugget Point is an iconic panoramic platform on the Catlins coast with one of the country’s oldest lighthouses perched above the famous rocks named by Captain Cook because they looked like pieces of gold.

Continuing the journey, we arrive at the railway station in Dunedin, located at the head of Otago Harbour, as we’re still on the South Island’s southeast coast. It’s known for its Scottish and Maori (New Zealand’s indigenous peoples) heritage, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and a large student population. A landmark is the Larnach Castle and gardens, built by William Larnach, who was an entrepreneur who discovered gold in the region in the 1860’s and later became a prominent politician. Before leaving the area, take a look at this waterfalls!

Castle Hill is located in what’s called a high country station in the south island, a large farm area dedicated to the grazing of sheep and cattle. It’s also where is found an amazing array of limestone boulders and rock formations, considered some of the finest to be found anywhere in the world.

Christchurch is the nation’s second largest city and its name most likely recognized today is because of the earthquake it suffered in February 2011. John’s visit to the city was brief and he shared very few photos … this one showing a couple of typical homes found there as well as these two pictures of this church still not rebuilt at the time of his visit a year ago.

Our final stop for this journey, so as to end on a high note, is to head down the coast from Christchurch and visit the Banks Peninsula and the resort town of Akaroa … scenes of the waterfront area and of the town itself and, finally, of the fjord which connects the town’s waterfront to the Pacific Ocean!

If you’ve enjoyed this scenic journey across New Zealand’s South Island, thanks to our longtime friend John (our connection is that he and my late wife Alicia worked together before she and I were married, and that’s 45 years ago) and you’d enjoy seeing another collection of photos from this far-away territory, let me know. Thank you!

Maybe you don’t remember the earthquake which struck New Zealand nearly a decade ago, but the nation comes to mind for some reason . . . might it relate to creature?

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