# General > Member's Lounge > Photography >  Benetay @ New Zealand South Island

## benetay

Went on a 16 days road trip to New Zealand South Island end of May. For those who like to view nature & do some trekking it's really an excellent place. Tourist are kept to a minimum. We went during the start of winter, it's cold & gloomy on some days. Temperature ranges from -5 to 15 Degrees depending on where we were. 

The best way to view south island is by car, renting a car there is a breeze. With the increase prices on petrol it's a little bit more expensive to drive. The rates are similar locally. We rented a 3.5L Semi automatic car & the drive was really different. Sharing some photos of South Island. 

We enjoyed every single day there & wish it could be a little longer.

C & C are welcome.

Upon arrival, we decided to view the city of Christchurch, it's pretty much develop but the road limits of 50 is tough to handle. Wish it was a little faster. Here, trams giving tourist a ride of whats in & around the city.
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The next day we head towards Mt Cook, stop along the way to see the amazing Lake Tekapo
#2


We took the hunter's valley trek. A bridge to the other side.
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Enjoying the colours of the sky.
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Plants living in subzero conditions.
#5

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## benetay

After Mt Cook we went downwards towards the southern side of South Island.
Devil's marble.
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A jetty closed from the public, filled with birds.
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Went over to nugget's point to see some seal but got disappointed they were far away. A light house at Nugget's point.
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Another shot of it
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Reached Bluff which is the southern most point before Steward island. An international sign post.
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## benetay

Love this little fellas, they are everywhere.
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Went over to Milford sound.
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On a cruise
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Birds following the cruise ship.
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Along Milford sound route, Mirror lake, All still lakes are mirror isn't it? 
#15  :Huh?:

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## benetay

One more mirror lake shot before heading to Queenstown.
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Luge ride, Gondola! Quite fun playing the luge ride, anytime faster then Singapore.
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On the way up
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Up higher
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## benetay

How about some ice to start your day. Fox Glacier
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More on Fox
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Our climbing guide showing us drinkable water. Although in sub zero conditions we drank quite a lot of it after our ice climbing session. It's really pure. 
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Ice,cloud,forest.
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A fellow climber taking a break, viewing the wonders of nature. Yes thats my Girlfriend. 
#24

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## benetay

A deep cut in the glacier, look harmless but once in, it's almost as deep as you can imagine.
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Finally the sun show mercy, illuminating the sky.
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Clear skies, feeble attempt on star trails.
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Another shot
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## benetay

All the climbing,driving,trekking, it's about time to take a break. Visited pancake rocks.
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Longest swing bridge.
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head all the way up north to Abel tasman national park. 
Apple split rock.
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tranquility, just peace.
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No shops, no houses, nothing. Just us & nature.
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## benetay

Went over to wine region harvest season is over. This is what's left.
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Rolls of vineyard
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Along the way back to Christchurch. Finally we spotted fur seals.
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One more
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Trees along Hanner spring.
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## benetay

Love to show some panoramas.

Lake matheson 
#39


Milford sound
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Mount Cook
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Queenstown
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Lake Tekapo
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Thats all for now.

Cheers!

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## Simon

looks like you have enjoyed your trip, love the panorama, especially the last

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## neon

Wow !! Stunning photos and skills. Thanks for sharing it with us !

Cheers

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## Cpark188

Great pictures and thanks for sharing with us, though I might have no chance to visit there, but so happy to see the photos that you have captured. I love the scenery and the panorama shots. A bit puzzle on how you capture the star trail?  :Roll Eyes:  :Wink:  :Smile:

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## benetay

Thanks all for the kind words, we did enjoy ourselves very much there.

Star trails? Just open shutter via cable release & wait with a cup of hot chocolate in your hand  :Smile: 

Cheers!

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## genes

Ah! you climbed fox glacier! I was lazy, took a chopper up to the summit instead.  :Opps: 

Some really beautiful pictures taken. Queenstown is an extremely scenic and beautiful town. Jurassic park and Lord of the rings was shot there i think. I hoped you tried white water rafting there because the point where the melted ice water from the mountains meets the sea is breadth taking! One being denser, they do not mix and so form a long stretch of double coloured sea where they meet.

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## leeruisheng

Simply breathtaking. Thanks for sharing.

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## benetay

Sadly we didn't try any white water rafting. We decided it was too cold. The water was like 3-4 degrees when we were kayaking at Abel tasman national park. Cannot even put my legs in the water for more then 1 min. We did try the jet boat. It was alright nothing to shout about.

Thanks guys for the kind words.

Cheers!

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## trident

benetay,
wow, sure looks like a nice holiday, I feel cold just looking at the photos, burrr.
The pictures are beautiful, especially the panorama ones, postcard perfect.

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## benetay

Thanks Richard, glad that you like it, might consider it one of your place to go after your retirement. It's a great place to slow down the pace & take a breather.

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## jacian

Bene, nice photos, I guess you enjoy your stay there.
I really miss Queenstown.  :Crying:

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## benetay

Queenstown is turning into a heavily dependent tourist destination, local residences are complaining about it & wishes that the rest of South Island to remain as 'undisturbed' as possible. Queenstown is a nice place to be if you're a adventure seeker, bungee & all kinds of thrill seeking rides. 

Thank you Jacian, hope that you've enjoyed the series.

Cheers!

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## StanChung

Wow, I thought you mixed up the set of LOTR with some travel pictures! j/k.

Really love those panoramas. The birdie look great too.

Did you encounter any technical difficulties?

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## benetay

The coldness was alright for DSLR, nothing much just maybe condensation from cool to warm places. Only manage to open shutter for about 1 hour max on 2 fully charge batteries. 

Wore 2 gloves to combat the icy cold weather normally at ice/snow areas. Take out one when i'm shooting on the right hand. Prolong exposure to ice/snow will result in cold bites, very painful when your nails start to turn purple. 

My lens did get quite heavy banging on such terrain, climate & weather. At lease i know that it will still be functional after going through such ordeals. The worst place would be at the glacier. The ice are hard & unfriendly. Banging the camera around with all the climbing gears. Tried to keep the batteries as warm as possible. Was out there for 9 hours. 

Cheers!

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## Aquaculture

Beautiful shots! This is one of my favourite. Took it with a huge 400mm?

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## luenny

I like that photo too. I think it's an albatross. And I don't think you need 400mm to shoot it. Very nice shot.

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## Goondoo

> Beautiful shots! This is one of my favourite. Took it with a huge 400mm?


Shot with a 180mm as mentioned in the EXIF  :Smile: 
Looks like largely cropped (from the noise level at ISO200).

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## benetay

Yes it was shot with the Canon 180mm macro lens double as a range. Those albatross family birds are flying quite near the boat. It's not easy shooting them when the boat is experiencing choppy waters. Had to lean against structures to keep my foot on the ground. At range of 288mm 1.6x crop sensor, it will be nice having a 300-400mm lens on a FF. 

It was shot landscape format, crop the sides off making it into a vertical format. 
All shots were in raw & converted to Jpg after processing. It was overcast, had to use high shutter speed to capture the flying bird with a aperture of f/7.1. Noise increases in lower light condition without the use of flash. Easily rectifiable with programs these days but i'm not so picky about it. As long as i'm not printing all my pictures in S8R size.  :Smile: 

Luckily the 200+ prints were all alright! Had the last pano printed in SS6R as well & 2 S8R. 

Thanks Aquaculture & luenny for the kind words. 

Cheers!

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## celticfish

I also want to join the Fellowship!!  :Laughing: 

btw did you try to taste the raisins?
They have to taste good being "fresh".
Lovely pictures.
I think your pictures got quite a few people planning for a "must do" in this lifetime trip!  :Grin:

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## StanChung

Even in normal weather[ours], I find it a pain to swap lenses that's why I asked.
Condensation just coming out of my room is enough to make me sweat! LOL.
[paid a lot to get lenses cleaned!]

I think 2 bodies are the way to go. Now if only they made the D3/D300 30&#37; lighter and cheaper as well. [wishful thinking]

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## kuching

I like the photos of star trails! Nice!!!

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## benetay

Thanks guys for the kind words, i still do swap my lens here & there. Luckily there isn't much dust around. 

Irwin, i didn't get the chance to taste 'fresh' raisin just had desserts with raisin, not too bad i'm not a great taster. As long as it's food, i think they're all pretty alright.  :Confused:  Wish i had more time there to take in the nature beauties. The west coast area changes from tropical forest to temperate forest in every bent. It will be nice to visit NZ in your lifetime to take a look at mother nature. Am thinking of a trip next year, still not sure where to go. Too bad i couldn't fork out the cash for a Amazon trip it's too dear. Maybe India?

Stan, I agree, cleaning of lens will cost quite a lot. Basic cleaning of lens $120-$180. Multiply that with the number of lens. So who said photography is cheap?  :Crying:  CMOS cleaning, viewfinder cleaning another $50. Don't really dare to take up the lens cleaning service by people or shops doing cleaning. Since already paid the price of a L, might as well bring it back to the original makers for cleaning. No sleepless nights. 

Star trails are much easier taken over there, as long as you have a very solid jacket + wind breaker & a sturdy tripod. Both the star trail pictures are taken outside the motel at fox glacier. The winter population there is only 90 so light pollution is kept at bay. Have tried doing it at other places but i guess a clear sky & a very dark place is the best place to shoot.

Cheers!

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## Aquaculture

> Yes it was shot with the Canon 180mm macro lens double as a range. Those albatross family birds are flying quite near the boat. It's not easy shooting them when the boat is experiencing choppy waters. Had to lean against structures to keep my foot on the ground. At range of 288mm 1.6x crop sensor, it will be nice having a 300-400mm lens on a FF. 
> 
> It was shot landscape format, crop the sides off making it into a vertical format. 
> All shots were in raw & converted to Jpg after processing. It was overcast, had to use high shutter speed to capture the flying bird with a aperture of f/7.1. Noise increases in lower light condition without the use of flash. Easily rectifiable with programs these days but i'm not so picky about it. As long as i'm not printing all my pictures in S8R size. 
> 
> Luckily the 200+ prints were all alright! Had the last pano printed in SS6R as well & 2 S8R. 
> 
> Thanks Aquaculture & luenny for the kind words. 
> 
> Cheers!


Thanks for explaining in detail. Lots of learning for me to do.  :Smile:

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## benetay

We're all learning! Theories are there to learn but it's still good to go out for a shoot.


Cheers!

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## benny

Some very good pictures!! So you did shoot some film as well!! Show me next time!

Cheers,

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