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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 am starting the tour in Christchurch around 3 pm with a few drinks so you can 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. If the season is good, we’ll hopefully see some Lupins around the Lake edge. The church is also a great foreground for some astro.
After breakfast we begin our journey to Mt Cook (Aoraki). This is a stunning drive along the shores of Lake Pukaki with stops at various lookouts along the way.
We’ll do the 30 minute walk to Tasman Lake for a usually amazing sunset shoot. We’ll also capture some incredible astro here if the weather co-operates.
Our accommodation is at the famous Hermitage Hotel for the next 2 nights. Their breakfast and dinner buffet’s are to die for.
Up early for the optional amazing Glacier Flight that includes landing on the glacier itself (weather permitting). Because it is just our group only, we get to spend nearly an hour on the glacier and enjoy the serenity and mesmerising photography before continuing our scenic flight back to Mt Cook. The cost of this flight is an additional $600 and requires a minimum of 5 people. This is a truly spectacular and memorable experience and one that I strongly recommend.
It’s a lazy afternoon to catch your breath and a bit of sleep if you want. In the evening, we head back to Tasman Lake for the sunset. Tonight we have several options for astro that we will decide at the time.
This will be our second opportunity for our ski plane flight if the weather the day before was not suitable. Otherwise, it’s back to Tasman Lake which is better known for it’s sunrise.
After a dawn shoot at the Wanaka Tree and then breakfast, we depart for Queenstown. Coffee at the famous Cardrona Pub and lunch and a look around Arrowtown. We drop in at Lake Hayes for hopefully a mirror reflection afternoon shoot before arriving in Queenstown.
Today we head to the quaint little town of Glenorchy, surrounded on either side by breath taking snow covered mountains. After lunch, we head 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 go back to Glenorchy for some astro and if the weather holds, I want to take you a stunning little lake for some of the best reflections of the Milkyway in New Zealand. It’s a long day but eventually we go home to Queenstown for a well earned sleep.
After a little sleep in and breakfast, we follow the eastern shores of Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau. There are a few nooks to explore along the way before a leisurely afternoon with a sunset shoot at a local jetty. This will be our base for the next 2 days while we explore the Milford Sound area.
A big day today as we drive the stunning road to Milford Sound with lots of stops along the way to explore some forests, streams and lakes. After lunch we embark on our 2 hour cruise. Hopefully we’ll see some local marine wildlife and take a shower under Stirling falls (if you’re game).
We’ll then stay and explore the area. We have dinner at Pio Pio and then a sunset and maybe an Astro shoot before we make our way back to Te Anau. While the road is mostly reliable this time of year, it’s always subject to landslides after heavy rain. If conditions prevent our day to Milford Sound, there is a backup plan to visit some stunning local lakes.
We begin today with a short cruise to the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves. 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.
Once back at Te Anau we grab some lunch before the drive back to Queenstown where our tour sadly comes to an end. We can drop you at the airport or your hotel as you wish.
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.
Rare View provides Photographic Training and experiences through workshops and tours. I also create Time Lapse videos for production and advertising companies.
