NEW ZEALAND PHOTO TOUR THE SOUTH ISLAND APRIL 2027 1 left

Destination summary – ( Aotearoa ) New Zealand Photo Tour – The South Island 

New Zealand photo Tour – Experience and photograph one of the world’s most beautiful locations. The iconic mountains, lakes and rivers of  New Zealand’s South Island.

Aotearoa – The land of the long white cloud.

The Lightstalker’s New Zealand Photo Tour will explore a range of stunning locations from glacial lakes, alpine mountains, lush meadows, historic gold mining towns, quirky villages and the Pacific east coast. Plus all the places in between.

This 13 day New Zealand Photo tour will focus on 3 key regions, Otago (Queenstown, Glenorchy Wanaka, Dunedin and the Caitlins).

Further north we’ll explore Canterbury (Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park and Lake Tekapo) before finishing off in Southland with incredible Fiordland and the Jewel in the crown – Milford Sound.

April is peak Autumn in the southern hemisphere and this trip will be scheduled to capitalise on the Autumn colours that will be abundant at this time of year.

Getting there 

The tour starts and ends in Queenstown, New Zealand’s adventure capital on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The Airport has connecting flights from Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne.

Accommodation

A mixture of apartments, hotels and holiday homes, all single occupancy rooms. Queenstown 2 nights / Wanaka 1 night / Twizel 1 night /  Aoraki – Mt Cook NP 2 nights  / Dunedin 2 nights / The Catlins  1 night / Te Anau- Milford Sound 3 nights.

What to expect 

The location 

The South Island is without doubt the most dramatic part of this Island nation.

The high snow capped peaks of the Southern Alps are surrounded by glacier, alpine rivers , meadows and aquamarine glacial lakes.

The highlight Mt Cook ( Aoraki ) rises to a height of over 3700 metres , we won’t be climbing it but we will be using it it as a stunning back drop to several compositions when we stay in the National Park.

The transition East brings a change in geography and colour as we arrive at  the pacific coast. The Pacific’s breakers north and south of Dunedin crash into golden beaches, with wildlife, rugged rocky islets and coastal outposts also providing interesting subject matter.

The Nuggets lie south of the very “Scottish vibes” town of Dunedin and provide  a great opportunity to capture stunning images at dusk complete with light house perched on high cliffs.

Once over looked by travellers  the Catlins  coast is  covered in dense woodland and provides a total contrast to the Alpine scenes to the west.

A trinity of spectacular waterfalls give us a good morning workout before heading back west to Te Anau and World Heritage Listed Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is just one of the few inlets that is accessible in Fiordland. We’ll take to the water and explore the fjord by boat as well as exploring the 125km approach road that cuts through the mountains to reach the sound.

Quirky historic towns like Arrowtown, Kurow, Oamaru, Dunedin  and Cardrona  provide many interesting subjects  between our natural locations. The noticeably friendly and chatty locals, local produce, NZ’s  famous wines and boutique brewery’s  all combine to give an insight into the  cultural aspect of this part of the world.

The Weather

The southern hemisphere will be in Autumn and warms hues will be mixed into to the colour palette of the New Zealand landscape. It’s the equivalent of October, so days will be cooler, mornings potentially misty with a mix of sun and showers through out our time here.

This dynamic weather should offer some quality light as we move around between locations.

More info to come – register your interest directly.

Check out some recent testimonials here