A brief few words, then on to the pictures. Landed in Christchurch, NZ, which is about halfway down the east coast of the South Island. I stayed at a nice little B&B on the outskirts of town, which ended up being a great location (I could walk everywhere). I had posted on a photography forum that I was visiting, and asked if anyone had recommendations. As it turns out, a very nice guy offered to show me around, so we spent the day wandering the city and local area and chatting a bit. It was really quite nice, and a wonderful introduction. The next day, I picked up my rental car (after having mild panic attacks about driving on the left), collected my things, and headed out! (Spoiler alert: driving on the left is surprisingly easy and I’ve adjusted quickly. I don’t want to drive much in city traffic, but then I don’t want to do that at home, either.) First day was a 300km drive to Mt Cook Village, where I am staying for two nights. The first two hours or so are perfectly nice, but just country driving. Then you come around a bend and start smiling. The scenery is just amazing. Stopped at several places along the road to take pictures, see some landmarks, and just enjoy it. Arrived just before dinner at my hostel, which has amazing views – look out any window, and you’ll see a postcard. This morning I got up and headed out to beat the forecast rain. Had about a three hour hike on the Blue Lakes, Tasman Glacier, and surrounding area. Very, very pretty. I think I’m going to like it here. 🙂
And now, pictures!
All of the above? Taken in a single 24 hour period. My camera is getting it’s exercise (as am I, with all the hiking).
Following the Lens 
Hello David: it is after midnight here in NYC…. and still a chill.
Amazing landscapes. The color of the water looks tropical.
What kind of car are you renting? A different kind of freedom, right?
Keep enjoying this venture.
Hard to believe it is March!
xoGusty
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Thanks Gusty! I learned that the color in the water (blue, anyway) is from the rocks that the glacier ground up as it was glaciering. The particles are so fine that they remain suspended in the water, resulting in that bright blue. Pretty cool! I’m renting a Nissan Tiida, a basic (automatic) 4dr sedan. Nothing fancy, just enough to get me around.
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So sorry you’re not getting the opportunity to take photos of spectacular scenery:). I hope your camera appreciates the opportunity you are giving it.
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David, thanks for explaining the color of the water, I was wondering the same thing. What a beautiful place! Did you know that Ellen spent almost 3 years there, doing her PhD at the U. of Otago in Dunedin. I’ll forward this to her, in case she’s not already seeing it. How nice to see mountains and sun and (almost) no snow! And everyone says how friendly the people are there. So far it sounds true! Thank you for sharing so much of this adventure with us.
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Thanks Jan! I’ve gotten some great suggestions from Ellen on things to do, hopefully I’ll be able to make some of them happen.
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The scenes are beautiful and you have a very good eye for composition. What stays with me, however, is the clouds. Wow.
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Thank you Carol!
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So beautiful David! I visited NZ a long time ago but I dont remember its beauty, like this!
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Thanks Susan!
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Your photos are amazing…what good use of photoshop! 🙂 I can see that the word awesome is appropriate – the scenes are really sweeping! I’ll bet you feel like you have to do a 360 at each stop to take it all in. Is the air really that clean? Wow. All that and Vegemite too! XXXXXXXXXXMa
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Har har. I only use Photoshop to remove things about the picture I don’t like…like my brother, for example. 😀 You’ll notice all the panoramas!! Everything is a scenic vista, so it’s hard to pick a focus point for the pictures. And yes, the air is that clean. Even with the delightful scent of vegemite!
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