Surrounded by such natural beauty in the South Island of New Zealand it’s a real challenge not to walk around with your mouth wide open.  There are jaw dropping views all around you with autumn colours, rugged peaks and seemingness endless lakes.  It took us less than an hour to meander along the Cardrona Valley between Wanaka and Queenstown and across the Crown Range but it isn’t hard to imagine how long and hard a journey it would have been for the first settlers traversing the mountains to find their land of promise. This is without doubt my favourite part of New Zealand, you can feel the true spirit of those pioneering immigrants.  I have promised myself to return next year for a photography trip to explore a little of the beaten track.  To see beyond the tourist trails and coffee shops and capture the natural beauty as I see it.
This really is such a spectacular part of the world, I agree, and your photos are stunning, Julie. And one of the things I also love about traveling around much of the South Island is the lack of traffic, which you’ve captured perfectly in that photo. So much so, it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security … On one trip driving from Dunedin to Wanaka, over the old Pig Route, I remember that we came flying over the crest of a hill only to discover a Japanese man standing right in the middle of the road taking photos. We were lucky to miss him, and he had clearly lost sight of the fact that there were at least a few cars using the road, even if it is entirely possible to drive for half an hour or more without seeing another car. I’m not sure there are many other parts of the world where that can happen.
At this time of year I say to myself every time I drive out of Muriwai “why didn’t I bring my camera” I need to get int the habit of taking it everywhere, there is always something beautiful to photograph in this country. Beautiful pics.
Hi Ali, if you have your iphone you have your camera :o) Happy snapping.