New Zealand Trip Diary / 15.02.07 - 17.03.07

[thomas]

Hi all!

I thought about creating a little NZ trip diary. I know a few of you plan to go there.
That country is beautiful, the people are friendly and it's quite easy travelling there.
The flight took about 27 hours with a stop in Singapore and changing the plane in Sydney. For everybody who doesn't like to fly that long, just don't get discouraged about that. It's not as bad as it sounds. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

My sister and me began our trip in Christchurch where we met Belinda, Rodders, Gerald and Isaac. I still can't believe it. I won't post pictures about Christchurch because I've done it already HERE.
So after CHCH we started our trip across the South Island. It didn't begin as expected because we received our rental car in the afternoon instead of in the morning like ordered so we lost 5 hours. But the tour compensated that bad experience.
Just watch the pictures! They were taken on the way to our first stop at Lake Tekapo.





A little church at Lake Tekapo. Make sure you visit it before 9am so that you won't be overrun by lots of tourists.


A closer view.






To be continued ... i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Thomas

[Gene]

Hi Thomas,
Beautiful pictures. I have wanted to go to NZ for years. It would appear that the country is a lot like Norway, where I've been a couple of times. Norway is a photographer's paradise. Your pictures reveal that NZ is the same.
In addition, as an amateur astronomer I have always wanted to see the the cross-section of the Milky Way Galaxy across the night sky, as seen from NZ. It's one of the best places on Earth to view it. Perhaps someday. If anyone is going, I'd be only too happy to carry your golf clubs for you. Here's a pic of the center cross-section of our galaxy as seen from Utah....not too far from where Hayley and CW are currently performing. Close to the center is what appears to be an inverted horse. It's known as "The Dark Horse", composed of galactic dust. This concludes your astronomy lesson for today. Lunchtime!
Looking forward to the additional pictures.....Gene.

[grant]

Wonderful pictures Thomas!! - I'm still hoping to go if and when Hayley's tour happens.

Best wishes
Grant

[thomas]

After we'd left Lake Tekapo we headed for Wanaka, a very nice little town close to Queenstown. On our way we passed Mt. Cook. To see the mountain you have to leave the main road and drive north a dead end road along Lake Pukaki.
It was quite misty in the morning at the lake and we were a little afraid not to see the mountain.



But the weather cleared and gave us a good view on Mt. Cook.


Mt. Cook and scenery around Glentanner at the northern end of Lake Pukaki.




We continued our trip towards Wanaka and drove through Twizel. Around Twizel there are very dry fields which look like any other but these fields here are quite famous. Here we are at the "Pelennor Fields" where the last big battle for Minas Tirith was filmed for Lord of the Rings Part III.




You can take part in a guided tour for 75 NZ$ which is much to see a dry field. But the former Ork at the visitor centre explained us how to get there by car. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Finally we reached Wanaka at the end of the day where we took a nice walk at the shore of the lake in the evening sun.






To be continued ... i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Thomas

[Martin]

Hello Thomas
These are great photos and I look forward to more. They really do capture the sheer vastness of South Island and its rugged scenery.

Best wishes
Martin

[Andrew]

Hi Thomas,

These pictures are absolutely fantastic... Thanks so much for sharing them!

OK... So you are either trying to make the majority of us feel jealous of you - since you have recently had the chance to visit New Zealand, or perhaps you are trying to make Hayley feel homesick?

Or maybe both???

Thomas... you are a very cruel man!!!

Andrew

[graemek]

Thanks Thomas (& Hallo Simone)....both pics & commentary....excellent.

Very atmospheric.

Graeme

[Stephany]

Hi Thomas,
Your pictures are fabulous.
I'm so jealous - I would love to go to this part of the world (with Australia!).
Do you intend to go back to NZ one day?
Stephany

[Steve H]

Hi Thomas and Simone

Thank you for sharing your great photo's with us, the snow capped mountains look beautiful. I hope to go to NZ one day

Best Wishes

Steve H

[mariannek]

Hi Thomas,
Your NZ photos are brilliant!
I can't wait to visit again, especially with Hayley giving concerts once more.
Love, Marianne

[grant]

Excellent pictures Thomas - you are making us all very jealous.

Very unusual cloud formations on the Glentanner picture.

Thanks for sharing.

Best wishes
Grant

[Richard]

Thanks for sharing your fabulous photographs, Thomas!

Those clouds may have formed as a result of warmer air rising from the lower ground between the mountains, then cooling in the upper atmosphere. I've never seen cloud formations like that here in the UK. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[Dave]

Hello Richard and everyone!

Those wonderful clouds in the photo posted by Thomas (thanks Thomas!)

...are Lenticular clouds which form in mountainous areas, or slightly down-wind of them, when the wind is strong and is (sometimes) forced to form standing waves by the rugged terrain. The lenticular clouds get stuck in the standing waves of the airflow so often, they just sit there.

I have seen them in the lee of the Pennines in England but they are usually much simpler versions and I have never seen such beautiful formations as these. But believe it or not, they can be even more amazing, such that they are sometimes calles flying saucer clouds. There are some spectacular examples on the following web-page... which is VERY big due to the large number of photos on it:

www.funtigo.com/valuca?g=25544746&cr=1&rfm=y

In case you didn't guess, one of my geeky hobbies is amateur meteorology

Cheers, Dave

[grant]

dave said:

they are sometimes calles flying saucer clouds.

Funny you should say that Dave because when I saw Thomas' picture, I thought to myself "those clouds look like flying saucers"!

Best wishes
Grant

[postscript]

Superb pictures and trp diary, Thomas, keep 'em rolling! That church could be a view in Scotland!

Peter S.