Even before it shot to fame as the setting for The Lord of the
Rings, New Zealand has been known for its magnificent natural
landscapes.
Home to the snow-capped Southern Alps, New Zealand offers
spectacular glaciers, picturesque fiords and crystal clear lakes.
Not to mention sandy beaches, volcanic plateaus, vast farmlands and
numerous mountain ranges.
With such a sheer variety of landforms within just a few hundred
kilometres, New Zealand is a photographer’s dream and a complete
life-sized geography textbook.
Auckland as seen from Mount Victoria, the highest volcano along
the North Shore.
A third of New Zealand’s 4 million-plus people live in Auckland,
known as the City of Sails for its many sailing yachts. This
peaceful city consistently ranks among the top ten most livable
cities in the world.
“Four Seasons In One Day” is a hit song by one of New Zealand’s
most popular bands, Crowded House, and for good reason.
This island in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean can often
catch you off guard with its fickle and sometimes extreme weather
patterns.
Here, a sudden shower sends Aucklanders scrambling for cover. Check
out the city’s 300m-plus Sky Tower, which is the tallest such
building in the Southern Hemisphere.
The famous view of Auckland’s CBD from Mount Eden, a volcano with a
bowl-like crater on top.
Hot air balloon rides are a popular way to see spectacular views of
New Zealand. This flight from Hamilton starts early in the morning
to allow passengers to catch a glimpse of the sun’s first rays as
they fall on a distant mountain range. You can also take a balloon
from Christchurch, the main air gateway to South Island.
The windiest city in the Southern Hemisphere, “Windy Wellington” is
New Zealand’s capital city (but not the biggest city as Auckland
has by far the largest population). Wellington has a beautiful
harbor and well-structured town belts to create green reserves
encircling the city.
Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont, also known as the “Fuji Mountain”
in New Zealand for its similarity to its more famous stratovolcanic
brother in distant Japan. This mountain is possibly the most
dangerous to climb in New Zealand, with a reputation for the
highest annual fatalities, mostly due to rapid changes in weather
conditions
Step into the Shire, home of the Hobbits in the Lord of The Rings,
in this filming set that was preserved after movie shooting
ended.
A lone surfer at the Bay of Plenty in winter. This historic region
was named for its abundant natural resources and its located on the
northern coast of North Island, near to Auckland.
