A view of Queenstown!
Queenstown!
View of Queenstown and it's surrounding area.
To get to these amazing views I took the Skyline Gondola carriages. I admit, I was terrified.
A local Queenstown Church.
Beautiful roses at the Queenstown Gardens.
Queenstown! Known as the adventure capitol of NZ, it is common to go bungee-jumping at nearby sites or to go skydiving! It'll cost you though, the trips average to more than $200/trip. I opted for something a bit less expensive, and after all, I could barely jump off a 10 meter bridge, let alone a 50+ meter bungee! Unfortunately the city also has a reputation as being a party city for American tourists. I didn't see much of this culture as I was always away on day trips and to satisfy concerns about my safety traveling alone I mostly stayed in at night.
Being a Kiwi. I never thought I liked Kiwifruit, but I'm converted!
Funny sugar packets from my hotel.
The view from Queenstown.
The Lake around which Queenstown is situated.
Fall colours in Queenstown. Unfortunately the colouring of the plants means they're not native, but they're still pretty.
Downtown Queenstown.
-
On my free day in Queenstown, rather than doing something like Bungee Jumping or Skydiving my friend and I went to nearby Arrowtown, known for it's gorgeous fall colours.
See the mini-fault line? Where the gradient in the rock seems to abruptly change direction?
Panning for gold in Arrowtown with a friend from field camp. Famous for it's gold, we weren't quite as lucky. Fortunately my friend is geologist so we think we found a few flakes, but nothing that's going to pay for medical school!
Gelato! It's actually quite popular here in New Zealand. This place was perfect for me, over 75 flavours of chocolate. Delicious!
-
From Arrowtown and Queenstown I headed up via bus to the north! Traveling through Haast Pass I arrived at Franz Josef. Along the way I saw a lot of the countryside and even more spectacular views!
Haast Pass bridge.
The Haast River Valley. Spectacular gray sand.
The Haast River Valley.
Lake Hayes, a gorgeous glacially carved lake we visited briefly. Too cold for a swim though!
Lake Hayes.
Lake Wanaka. So beautiful in NZ! This is what you're missing!
Lake Wanaka.
Another view of Lake Wanaka, one of the many beautiful glacially carved lakes we passed.
Overlooking the Tasman Sea, which separates New Zealand and Australia.
The overlook from Knight's Point.
Thunder Creek Falls, and my did it roar!
On the hike to Thunder Creek Falls.
In the rainforest. There are a lot of native beech trees around.
-
Finally to Franz Josef...
One of the littlest churches I've seen on this trip, in the town of Franz Josef which only has a few hundred permanent residents.
Welcome to Franz Josef!
The Franz Josef valley; the glacier is behind you from this viewpoint.
The Franz Josef glacier!
At the base of the Franz Josef glacier. Truly a spectacular sight.
Up by the Franz Josef glacier.
Hiking to the base of the glacier. Fortunately it stopped raining briefly! It is the rainforest after all!
A waterfall at Franz Josef. This is on the hike to the base of the glacier.
Remember, we're in the rainforest here! This is another one of NZ's spectacular tree-ferns, the only place in the world that has them. The glaciers (like Franz Josef) are a unique environment, in that the sub-tropical rainforest runs right into them!
-
The next few images are from the train ride through Arthur's Pass, in the Southern Alps.
Completing this train journey through Arthur's Pass brought me back to Christchurch (just in time for another aftershock!) where I flew back home to Auckland!
-
Until next time!
Thanks for taking us along for these journeys. Great photos (and I like it that you're seeing lots of churches)!
ReplyDelete