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New Zealand 2007

Visited the North and South Islands on an extended road-trip.

Downtown Auckland So beautiful, they keep it behind bars Looks like this might be a good place for a view The Auckland Harbour Bridge Yes, it is a good place for a view! The endless suburbs of New Zealand's largest city Apparently, one of every two New Zealanders owns a yacht The tower is also used for organized suicides The base for the Kiwi quest for the America's Cup More yacht parking More organzied suicide A leftover racing yacht from a former America's Cup Britomart? Sounds like a shop to buy Britons My North Island ride, a bloody Holden Commodore, ya bastard! Driving over the famous bridge North Island scenery. Surprisingly, no sheep in this view Oh, there they are. Near Rorotura. No other pix of the North Island... It rained for 3 days straight! This is where I regretted renting the Holden Commodore A dry moment, near Wellington Te Papa - the National Museum in Wellington Apparently, New Zealand has its own embarrassing history of bad '80s music If it wasn't for the ocean, I'd think I was up Mt. Royal in Montreal, at Molson Stadium The easy way up the hills in Wellington Even private houses have their own funicular railways More of where all this came from later... Steaming out of Wellington, heading for the South Island Flat space is at a premium in Wellington Love that new 10x zooming camera! The end of the North Island Inside Queen Charlotte Sound, on the way to the South Island Oh yeah, that's where all the lumber came from Still, most of the Sound is beautiful We were making good speed! Sister ship The small ferry-port town of Picton This is all there is to see in Picton, apart from the rental car office This is a single-lane highway bridge, with the additional fun of having a railway line as well Highway 6, on the west coast is very quiet. Most bridges are one lane only Usually, you hit the one-lane bridge with little warning Low cloud, but no rain while driving south Franz Joseph glacier The bottom is almost at sea level New Zealand's glaciers are all retreating Silver Fern National symbol of New Zealand What do they do with all those lambs? Eat them, of course! Warning Sign 1 of 3: Beware of Falling Rock Fox Glacier, next door to Franz Joseph Thousands of years of ice Warning Sign 2 of 3: Beware of Falling Ice Warning Sign 3 of 3: You'd be a real idiot to swim here! More ice Fifteen minutes away from the glaciers: the ocean Moving away from the west coast, it turns from rain forest to Scot's moor in 30 minutes I put my toe in this lake. It was 5 degrees. These boys are crazy! Stayed a few days in Queenstown Went jet-boating on the Shotover River The tranquil peace of a mountain stream The deafening roar of jet-boat and people screaming These boats can move at 80 km/hr in water a few inches deep, and can pull a 360 in their own length This boat cannot. One photo out of 670 is of National Geographic quality! (Queenstown from above) ... but not this one More organized suicide A self-deprecating take on the odd Kiwi accent Million dollar houses being built in Queenstown Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown A scene from the past, when lake steamers were the only way into Queenstown A scene from today, when lake steamers are a $50 tourist trap One last view of the lake Onboard the RNZMS Tourist Trap Actually, it was beautiful Autumn colours setting in Lots of interesting viaducts One of New Zealand?s most remote and photographed cottages. Railway access only Riding on the Taieri Gorge Limited, one of the great railway journeys of the world The Gorge More Gorge More Gorge. I took 200 photos in 2 hours! Oh, I see. Arthur's what? A couple of days later at Dunedin Railway Station Self Portrait While Driving The coast between Dunedin and Christchurch Statue in Christchurch: Scott of the Antarctic! "However, I do regret that I did not bring enough food." Oxford in the South Pacific A tree Actually, the Avon River, Christchurch What it looks like to be nearly run over by a tram