Deep in New Zealand’ s purest nature
Lake Te Anau Sunset, South Island, New Zealand Photo by Barry Epstein
Mimi and I wanted to take Ryan somewhere great for his university graduation and after many long discussions we decided New Zealand was the place to go. Ryan is a keen and highly profitable landscape photographer so the trip was centered around nature. Driving around New Zealand ' s stunningly beautiful South Island for just over 3 weeks was a delightful experience and both Ryan and I shot many photos. Although we were unsure exactly where to go, we collated advice from many friends, relatives and travel experts and planned the 1,200 mile( 1,900 kilometre) trip well.
The journey with Mimi, Luke and Ryan began as we flew from Perth to Sydney. Luke was then able to get us into the first class lounge at Qantas and we had the most incredible breakfast. We then boarded our flight to Christchurch where we picked up our RAV 4 and overnighted near the airport in a very clean and modern self contained motel. We were advised to stay away from the earthquake devastated downtown region that we drove through and saw first hand. Early the next morning we drove West to Arthur ' s Pass that took about 2 hours driving on winding roads that revealed spectacular waterfalls, rivers and mountain vistas. The roads were easy to drive but the two lanes frequently turned into one lane over the many bridges with the right of way well designated. These narrow bridges took a bit to get used to. As we were taking photos, a very large Kea bird that are large mountain parrots landed on the car and scared the hell out of me. They are not shy but we were warned that they can give you a nasty bite if you get too close. Unfortunately we missed stopping to see the very large 131 metre( 429 feet) waterfall called Devils Punchbowl Falls.
Arthur’ s Pass Panorama, South Island, New Zealand Photo by Barry Epstein
The rainforest flora then changed
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