Going to New Zealand - what to see?

[agoglanian]

so. how many RFFers do we have out in new zealand? im going to be going out there for christmas vacation with my family, and i was wondering what should i keep an eye out for while im out there? its totally new territory to me, as ive never been overseas.

im excited! my first journey with the r-d1!

 

[Kara]

Im a NZ native, do you know what areas you plan on heading? North of Auckland has a lot of treasures that people never get to see because they are too focused on going to queenstown with all the other tourists. I have to admit though, I personally never did leave the north island for the south, but even just thinking back now I can see a million places in my memories that are on my list of places to go.

 

[Terence T]

I'm headed to Christchurch in October and planning a 2 week drive in the South Island. Akaroa, Fox Glacier, Arthur's Pass, Wanaka, Te Anu, Queenstown and Milford Sound are on the itineary. Lots of wildlife opportunities abound, so if you're into that, bring your long glass.

Stewart Island is the southernmost point and the remoteness of the place makes for great wildlife spotting. You can get there by light airplane from Invercargill.

Will be travelling with my R-D1 too... amongst other goodies 🙂

 

[nksyoon]

I lived in NZ for 5 years when I was in university. North of Auckland you should see the Bay of Islands, Ninety Mile Beach. On the East coast of the North Island is some beautiful coastline as well.

In the South Island, if you're into hiking, you can do a long hike in the Milford Sound area. You can either do the comfort route with your luggage being transported for you from place to place, or you can do the full monty - just a backpack.

There's an interesting scenic train which goes from Christchurch up into the Southern Alps and across to the West coast of the Sth Island. Great scenery!

Hope that helps,
Nick

 

[Terence T]

Here's the link to the Tranz Scenic Train site... http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/

I've done the Tranz Alpine journey to Greymouth via Arthur's Pass, well worth the trip.

 

[parks5920]

Do not miss Xena, the warrior princess.

 

[dexdog]

While I do not live there (damn!), I have visited a couple of timess. High on the list are Te Anua, Bay of Islands, Fox or Franz Joseph glacier, Rotorua thermal area, Milford sound, Doubtful sound or other parts of fjordland, east-to-west transect of south island, wanaka. Great opportunities for hiking, backpacking, fishing and possibly whitewater rafting if one is so inclined.

Bring lots of film for your rangefinder- the country is absolutely beautiful.

 

[stephen_lumsden]

Hi

I am going there myself at Xmas on the way to Australia (we are emigrating there) and stopping off with the in laws in Christchurch. We are putting our furniture, books etc in a crate of course which will arrive 3 months later in Oz. To cut down on luggage flying there I shall be putting my cameras in the crate or most of them hopefully. I would like to keep a hold on two of them for the trip to NZ and my initial arrival in Melbourne.

Currently I have:

Canonet QL17-G3 with flash
Kiev 4a with 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm lenes.

Yashica Mat 124G
Tripod and light meter

Canon EOS 300v with 28-105 3.5/4.5 and 75-300 lens
Kodak 6440 Digital

My question is:

What 2 cameras would you bring? The Mat looks good for landscape and the 300v for wildlife etc, but I would be interested in opinions?

regards

Stephen

 

[peter_n]

Stephen my own experience on vacation earlier this year was that I used a wide-angle a lot and also a 40mm a lot. I took a risk and brought a "new" and just CLA'd Canonet QL-17 and it proved excellent for just everyday walkaround stuff. I like to use primes so looking at your gear I think I would bring the Kiev with the 4 lenses and the tripod. The 135 is a great lens for travel!

Also all you lucky guys going to NZ, make sure you go to as many rugby matches as possible!

 

[Will]

Im a NZ native, do you know what areas you plan on heading? North of Auckland has a lot of treasures that people never get to see because they are too focused on going to queenstown with all the other tourists. I have to admit though, I personally never did leave the north island for the south, but even just thinking back now I can see a million places in my memories that are on my list of places to go.

Ke-O-Ra Kara...

Agree that the Bay of lsland would be an ideal place to go, but the south island have a lot to offer too, especially the Milford Sound and Queenstown.

If you happens to stay in Auckland...

I would recommand going up to the One Tree Hill of Auckland (Did they remove the dieing tree?), there you can have a 360 degree view of Auckland.

Also try the end of the Bucklands Beach of East Auckland (the area, not the beach), where you can have a high vantage point looking over the Haraki Gulf and Rangitoto Island.

 

[sooner]

Are you sure it's okay to go there? Have they cleaned up all those Orc bodies and hosed down the embers of Mordor? Sorry, couldn't resist.....

 

[Kara]

lol!

Anywhere you go, theres probably going to be a photo opportunity. You can look at it like the north island has a lot of beautiful beaches and coastline. The south has a big 'wide open spaces' feel, its very green and mountainous. Ragland beach is a good stop near Hamilton, especially if youve never seen a beach with black sand.

I would probably take the 300v and your kodak digital, but thats just me. Here are a couple of links, sites of a friend of mine, just to get you ready to go 😉

[link]
[link]

 

[agoglanian]

yeah im only packing digital this time, last time i went to new york, they apparently dont like hand inspecting lots of film and they ran it through the xray machine. jerks.

im just going to shoot shoot shoot shoot.. all day 🙂

and terrence -

i WISH i had long glass *wink wink* my poor EOS system could use an L or seven. (im going to try and get the 70-200 f/4 before i leave, since thats a reasonably priced lens )

as well as getting the 50mm nokton, and MAYBE the 12mm heliar.

ive got some shopping to do! ( and some money to earn!!!! lol )

 

[James Burton]

Hi

I am going there myself at Xmas on the way to Australia (we are emigrating there) ... and my initial arrival in Melbourne.

Stephen

There's plenty of RFFers in Melbourne. We should meet up.

The flight between Christchurch & Melbourne is worth doing during the day
as you get to fly over the southern alps. Aparently more peaks than central Europe.
Drive around Ruapehu in Nth Island, lots of weird landscapes there. Between Taupo & Rotorua there are lots of hot springs type places (Hidden valley, craters of the moon). Check out the glow worm caves out west (can't remember the name off hand). Check out the penguins at the heads of Otago bay (Dunedin). Have a good walk around Dunedin (esp. the railway station).

I came back from NZ with more places I wanted to visit than I left with. It is not only a must-see place, it's a multiple visit place.

Oh, and check out the beer. Mac's, Monteith's are the ones I remember.

James