This tour was another wonderful success!
Welcome aboard the combined Rare View Photography and Nightscape Images New Zealand South Island Tour. I’ve combined the best daytime and night astro locations into this very unique and rare tour. You’ll be supported with hands on tuition and education from Richard Tatti and myself (Levin Barrett) as we go.
Departing Christchurch, we head southwest to Lake Tekapo, then a few days at the breathtaking Mt Cook (Aoraki) staying at the premium Hermitage Hotel. We then continue our exploration to Wanaka staying just meters from the famous Wanaka Tree. It’s then onto Queenstown for a few nights at Peppers Resort while we explore the local area including Glenorchy and Kinloch. Then we follow Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau for two nights as our base for visiting the stunning Milford Sound. After a final Glow Worm Cave Cruise we finish back in Queenstown.
Along the way, I’ve organised an optional special scenic ski plane flight around Mt Cook including landing on the glacier for 45 minutes! This glacier experience is specifically for our group only and scheduled for early morning so we get the best possible light. We also do a scenic cruise around Milford Sound and, as mentioned, a cruise to the Glow Worm Caves of Te Anau.
That’s 10 Days and 9 Nights of stunning locations, superb accommodation, most meals and countless memories and photos from one of the most stunning locations on earth!
The cost will include everything except lunch, drinks, airfares and the optional Glacier Flight. It is a small group in our own comfortable transport. You will have your own separate bedroom every night, breakfast and dinner, National Park passes and fully guided with photographic tuition and education. For couples sharing accommodation, please contact me directly for an amended price.
The tour focuses on landscape and nightscape photography and having a good time.
The tour is suitable for intermediate to advanced photographers who want to explore new and unique locations and gain further knowledge and experience with their photography.
This year I started the tour in Christchurch around 3 pm with a few drinks so we could meet the other guests and get to know each other. Dinner and your first nights accommodation is included so this is no longer an additional expense. Unless sharing with a partner, all accommodation from here on is in your own private bedroom.
Christchurch is a beautiful small city and you could easily spend a few days here exploring so you are obviously welcome to arrive earlier.
Departing Christchurch around 9AM, we head via Rakaia Gorge to Lake Tekapo. This is a stunningly beautiful location and home of the famous Church of the Good Shepherd. The church is also a great foreground for some astro.
After breakfast we began our journey to Mt Cook (Aoraki). This is a stunning drive along the shores of Lake Pukaki but unfortunately on this day, it was a very wet weather drive. The closer we got to Mt Cook, the heavier the rain.
Our accommodation was at the famous Hermitage Hotel for the next 2 nights. Their breakfast and dinner buffet’s are to die for.
As we had abandoned any chance of photos, Richard and I spent the evening talking photography and answering questions on any topic raised. It became quite an educational evening.
Unfortunately this year, the weather on the first day was not suitable for the usual Glacier Flight. But it was good enough for a walk to the Tasman Lake Lookout for some excellent early morning shots.
After a little break in the afternoon and with skies improving, we headed out along the Hooker Valley track and ended up shooting some amazing astro that night. It was so worth the effort and Mt Cook really turned it on. That’s 2 years running of perfect skies and some of the best astro of my life. Thanks Eric for the Pano image in this series.
Unfortunately our second opportunity for the Glacier flight was also cancelled due high winds. A few early risers went back to Tasman Lake for some stunning sunrise shots.
After a dawn shoot at the Wanaka Tree and then breakfast, we departed for Queenstown. Coffee at the famous Cardrona Pub and lunch and a look around Arrowtown. We dropped in at Lake Hayes before arriving in Queenstown.
Today we headed to the quaint little town of Glenorchy, surrounded on either side by breath taking snow covered mountains. After lunch, we headed to the little settlement of Kinloch where the Dart River flows into Lake Wakatipu for some spectacular images. This is a stunningly beautiful and remote location. We then went back to Glenorchy for sunset and then a stunning little lake for some of the best reflections of the Milkyway in New Zealand. It was a long day but eventually we got home to Queenstown for a well earned sleep.
After a little sleep in and breakfast, we followed the eastern shores of Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau. There are a few nooks we explored along the way before a leisurely afternoon. This will be our base for the next 2 days while we explore the Milford Sound area.
A big day today as we drove the stunning road to Milford Sound with lots of stops along the way to explore some forests, streams and lakes. After lunch we embarked on our 2 hour cruise. including a shower under Stirling falls.
We then stayed and explore the area. We had dinner at Pio Pio and then a sunset and Astro shoot at both Milford and Mirror Lakes before we made our way back to Te Anau around 1am. While the road is mostly reliable this time of year, it had been closed until the morning of our visit and then closed again the following day. So we luckily had perfect timing.
Due to very high water levels in the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves, we were not able to do this tour. It was a real shame as this guided tour takes us into the subterranean darkness past a flowing river and a small boat ride into the grotto of little glowing stars.
But we made some alternative plans and visited a few local lakes before the drive back to Queenstown where our tour sadly came to an end. After good bye’s all round, everyone was dropped at their hotels or the airport and thus ended our marvellous adventure.
If you come on board for this tour I will send through a full list of conditions, inclusions, exclusions, etc, but in a nutshell the pertinent ones are –
Please complete the following details and an email will be sent to you on how to complete your booking.
Note: Completing the details below is just an enquiry and if you are happy, will lead to a firm booking later.
