Pinterest

Images of New Zealand

Monday 28 November 2011
To my readers in the US, I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Continuing with my decade old photos, I thought it'd be neat to take you on an armchair tour of New Zealand. It feels slightly nostalgic seeing these pictures again, some of them were taken in the days of slides and negatives. Furthermore, I saw a few that I took of Christchurch, forever frozen in time when the reality is so different these days after the massive damage caused by the deadly earthquake recently.


christchurch avon

We often joke that Christchurch, NZ is more English than the English. I guess it's the case where the immigrants desperately wanting to hold on to traditions even though most of these customs are no longer practised in their country of origin. The Avon river meanders through the city centre Avon and is a tourist attraction in its own right. The punters can be seen ferrying tourists back and forth in the summer. Here's a bit of historical facts for you. The Avon is derived from the Welsh word, afon which in fact, means river.




mt cook
The NZ landscape is diverse. One minute you could be in a glacier and the next, a dessert. We were on a long drive back to Auckland from Palmerston North when we caught sight of the angry clouds above snowy peaks.



spring daffodils christchurch
Christchurch is famous for its parks and gardens. The best time to see all the flowers in full bloom would be springtime. The grounds are filled with a carpet daffodils and bluebells.



catlins
The Catlins, a region in the South Island filled with unspoilt and rustic landscape where one can explore the waterfalls, forests, lakes, rivers and caves. This is the Purakaunui Falls which has a nice and easily walkable track.




lake mapourika
Lake Mapourika lies to the north of Franz Josef, a glacier located near Mt Cook. It's usually very quiet and serene here at the lake. Few visitors ever stop by to take a look.


waitangi house
This is the house where approximately 500 Maori chiefs and representatives of the British sovereignty signed the controversial Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 which is still in dispute to this day. The Waitangi house is located in the Bay of Islands, North Island.


Well, I hope you've all enjoyed a quick tour of New Zealand!

13 comments:

  1. wow NZ is beautiful!!! so much lovely scenery. i hope i can visit one day, heard so many great things about it! thanks for sharing =]

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful post. Love love the greens. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing! I haven't been to NZ but possibly going next year. Hope it will work out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The photos are so stunning my eyes hurt!!! Amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. new zealand is so gorgeous!! it's one of the places i hope to visit soon!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is beyond gorgeous! The photos are breathtaking. So pure!!! Can't you tell I love it? HAHAHA :D
    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Marlene, You made me miss New Zealand. Nice photos. I would like to bring my son there one day. It holds a special spot in my heart. Regards, Vicky (gtvicky)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michelle, thank you! That's the beauty of living in the South Island but boy, it takes hours of driving to get to most of these places.

    ShinyPrettyThings, I hope you make it to NZ someday. The landscape there is truly spectacular.

    QY, thank you! Believe it or not, a few hundred miles from the waterfalls and the landscape is like dessert.

    Cubie, you're just a hop away from NZ. Don't forget to check out Lake Matheson, Franz Josef, Arrowtown and Lake Wanaka. They're utterly stunning.

    lauraloo, thank you, my friend!! No one came to visit me when I was still living in NZ!!! You'd better get your butt to London before I leave.

    Lisa, I'm biased so I'll have to agree with you :P Do visit the country but make sure you allocate enough time because it takes ages to drive from one location to the next. A bit like the US.

    Kim, thank you!! So sweet of you. NZ is certainly rather unspoilt and rustic. Well, outside of the major cities anyway :)

    Vicky, how are you?? I'm still amazed that you managed to compete in Ironman. I would've died after running past the 200 meter mark! Did you ever manage to get to the South Island?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful NZ pics! It makes me want to visit! Now I know where your blog header picture is from!! Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your world. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. those pictures are breathtaking!!!! with those pictures I feel like i've been there.. so beautiful!!! xoxo, Haus of Gala

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've always wanted to visit NZ. The views look absolutely breathtaking. Have you ever read The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough? I'm reading it right now, and the way it describes NZ is so interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  12. WOW! Very beautiful. New Zealand is on my wish list of countries to visit. Hopefully, one day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Everybody's going to kill me but I was disappointed with nz! Had always wanted to visit the country, even wanted to live there when i heard tt it's the only place where there's no snakes. But when I got there...the mountains were bare n dry n other than parts of south island, the place was exotic looking but small n not as scenic as in photos...I think I was comparing it to canada which is 1000000 times way way way more beautiful. Shoot me. P.s. Nzders were very helpful n friendly though:)

    Tt first photo looks like a Monet painting. Gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...