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I have just started putting a trip together to NZ and Singapore for 2012.
So I am looking for info on where to go once there for photography, my interest is wildlife and scenic. I think Singapore will be taken up mostly with shopping etc unless someone can suggest a must see place.
Thanks for all help/suggestions
 
in NZ you can go in any direction and see the best scnery on earth so I wouldn't worry about that!!!

South island has the most variety and alpine scenery. If you are into hiking too then do the milford track to milford sound - there's some amazing scenery on the way especially the waterfalls.
 
What he said, NZ is pretty much all scenic, Taupo and Rotorua in the north island are good for steaming volcanic type stuff. I was there earlier in the year.
 
Wildlife-wise don't exptect too much from NZ. They're all a bit huntin/shootin/fishin and the most commonly seen animals are the species that the settlers introduced. The really interesting stuff - Kiwis and Kakapos - are very hard to see and they're nocturnal. The Tuis are fun/a pain and you can see them if you go up into the areas to the East of the mountains on south island. In the parks you'll seen native birds like Black Swans and Pukekos. If south island is a clock face then the best scenery is between 7 and 2, clockwise. I don't know north island so well but it shouldn't be written off. Rotarua and Coromandel are both excellent as is Northland.
 
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:plusone: for the South Island.

Milford Sound will make your eyes bleed as the landscapes are amazing. Be aware that at some times of the year you can get snowed in to the Milford area so check the forecasts while you are there.

Queenstown is nice, sitting on the edge of Lake Wakitipu and below several mountains. There is also bungee jumping and jet boating nearby for a bit of adventure!

Mount Cook and the the glacier (can't remember the name) is a great sightseeing trip too. As is Lake Pukaki at the foot of Mount Cook.

Don't forget Christchurch, although they are still struggling to recover from the earthquake(s) there is still plenty to see around the city including Akaroa Harbour and Lyttleton Bay.

Coming further north on the South Island make sure you go to Hanmer Springs. Thermal heated swimming pools and baths is a great way to relax. There is also Whale & Dolphin watching from Kaikoura (east coast). Kaikoura has Seal and Blue Penguin colonies which can offer photo opps too.

Further north again, around Nelson, there are lots of skydiving centres as well as Tasman Bay which can be stunning the whole year round.
 
I spent a month in New Zealand in January / February and I agree with the above. The South Island is definitely more scenic. My (rough) itinerary was:

- Fly into Christchurch (not much there - so don't feel like you need to spend long there!)
- Hamner Springs for the hot pools,
- Hamner to Kaikoura for Whale Watching
- Back to Christchurch to meet with family
- Scenic drive to Akaroa for Dolphin Swim
- Head west to Franz Joseph driving through the Southern Alps. The drive through the mountains was stunning! We did a few short walks to break up the journey.
- Franz Joseph we did a 1/2 day glacier hike and helicopter ride (I'd highly recommend the helicopter!)
- From Franz Joseph we head west to the coast and then south down the coast to the Mount Aspiring National Park. Mt Aspiring National Park was STUNNING. There are litterally so many photo oppertunities with 2m from the road.
- We then headed to the lake district and stayed in Wanaka and Queenstown, both of which have some amazing walk and photography locations.
- From Queenstown we went to Te Anau and did a boat trip to Doubtfull Sound, and we did the drive to Milford Sound. Both the Sound's are stunning and I can recommend doing either, but don't feel like you need to see both. Milford Soun is more touristy, but the drive there is out of this world!
- We then head back to Queenstown for a few more day and then on to Lake Tekapo to do a star gazing tour.

Here is a link to some of the photos I took, I only had the DSLR for a couple of months. But you get an idea of the locations I visited.

Facebook New Zealand photos

For budget car rental look at Rent-a-dent. They provide budget cars and were a 1/3 of the price of Europcar etc.
 
MG TF 135 said:
:plusone: for the South Island.

Milford Sound will make your eyes bleed as the landscapes are amazing. Be aware that at some times of the year you can get snowed in to the Milford area so check the forecasts while you are there.

Queenstown is nice, sitting on the edge of Lake Wakitipu and below several mountains. There is also bungee jumping and jet boating nearby for a bit of adventure!

Mount Cook and the the glacier (can't remember the name) is a great sightseeing trip too. As is Lake Pukaki at the foot of Mount Cook.

Don't forget Christchurch, although they are still struggling to recover from the earthquake(s) there is still plenty to see around the city including Akaroa Harbour and Lyttleton Bay.

Coming further north on the South Island make sure you go to Hanmer Springs. Thermal heated swimming pools and baths is a great way to relax. There is also Whale & Dolphin watching from Kaikoura (east coast). Kaikoura has Seal and Blue Penguin colonies which can offer photo opps too.

Further north again, around Nelson, there are lots of skydiving centres as well as Tasman Bay which can be stunning the whole year round.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you did pretty much the same holiday as me :thumbs:
 
if you do arthurs pass from christchurch to greymouth, which is most recomended, make sure you drive as the train doesn't stop to let you get out.

also I fully recomend staying in the YHA there halfway along, it's a great spot

Oh and whatever you do make sure you do the luge in queenstown. Its the most fun activity ever!!!

http://www.skyline.co.nz/queenstown/luge/
 
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White Island off the North Island is stunning.
 
hoolio said:
Sorry got to disagree with that, that'll be the fly by wire :)

But as others have said there can't be many places that are not achingly beautiful.
Click to expand...

disagree all you like! :D

you're wrong, but by all means disagree :lol::lol:
 
Thanks Joe, Danny, Chris, Martyn, Ben, Barry and Dave also thanks for the link to the photo's I am getting excited now.
It seems plenty of scenic stuff to make it worth while driving oneself, thanks for rent a dent, Europcar....no way I used them in NI, I got billed for the car twice and a $400 bill for a flat tier (that wasn't when I took it back) I am not to much into hiking anymore (arthritis) a mile or two ok but that's about it.

A pity about the wildlife I wanted a particular bird, I don't know what its called yet but it is green & brown with red under the wings I would also like to do the seals.
Thanks again for the help
 
I'm not really in to birds but one of the most spectacular things i witnessed were Albatross at the back of the boat at Kaikoura. Stunning birds and for their size, so graceful.


Shy Albatross on water by MJK Canon, on Flickr
 
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DaveKing said:
I spent a month in New Zealand in January / February and I agree with the above. The South Island is definitely more scenic. My (rough) itinerary was:

- Fly into Christchurch (not much there - so don't feel like you need to spend long there!)
- Hamner Springs for the hot pools,
- Hamner to Kaikoura for Whale Watching
- Back to Christchurch to meet with family
- Scenic drive to Akaroa for Dolphin Swim
- Head west to Franz Joseph driving through the Southern Alps. The drive through the mountains was stunning! We did a few short walks to break up the journey.
- Franz Joseph we did a 1/2 day glacier hike and helicopter ride (I'd highly recommend the helicopter!)
- From Franz Joseph we head west to the coast and then south down the coast to the Mount Aspiring National Park. Mt Aspiring National Park was STUNNING. There are litterally so many photo oppertunities with 2m from the road.
- We then headed to the lake district and stayed in Wanaka and Queenstown, both of which have some amazing walk and photography locations.
- From Queenstown we went to Te Anau and did a boat trip to Doubtfull Sound, and we did the drive to Milford Sound. Both the Sound's are stunning and I can recommend doing either, but don't feel like you need to see both. Milford Soun is more touristy, but the drive there is out of this world!
- We then head back to Queenstown for a few more day and then on to Lake Tekapo to do a star gazing tour.

Here is a link to some of the photos I took, I only had the DSLR for a couple of months. But you get an idea of the locations I visited.

Facebook New Zealand photos

For budget car rental look at Rent-a-dent. They provide budget cars and were a 1/3 of the price of Europcar etc.
Click to expand...


Link to Facebook no workie
 
Christchurch:

Tram tour. The nearby coastline road up in the hills and the Lyttleton area. Great views. There's also a cable car that's worth going up. Christchurch has a decent aeroplane museum if you're that way inclined.

Oamaru:

Some great buildings. And the evening penguin parade where they return from their day out at sea to their beachside nests.

Dunedin:

More great architectural delights like the railway station. Plus Baldwin Street - steepest street in the world. I walked up it, stopped and turned round to look at the view - and nearly fell over.

Invercargill and The Caitlins in the south east [south island]:

Invercargill's ok, and makes a decent nightstop en route through the scenic Caitlins.

Queenstown:

Aside from the obvious adventure attractions of Queenstown, there's some half decent architecture. But you will want to head up to Deer Park Heights - the mountainy scrubland that you can see across the water from the town. It's a wildlife refuge with a variety of animals. Plus outstanding views. It was used to film some scenes in Lord Of The Rings. There's an entry fee and you need a pocketful of coins or notes for the unmanned machine. There's also a cable car that gives you views across the town and lake.

Milford Sound:

The drive to it mentioned by Dave King - I've never done it but I have got to Milford by air from Queenstown, twice now. It's a combined scenic flight through the mountains and a landing at Milford followed by a couple of hours cruise up the Sound. The flight is outstanding. I used Glenorchy, bookable from probably any hotel, or their web site. Highly recommended. The boat trip itself - you may well have dolphins cruising alongside. And you'll nose in to Sterling Falls, which, given the right lighting conditions, could provide you with some stunning photos. It's pot luck though whether or not you have a good clear day or be enveloped in cloud.

Mount Cook:

Not sure about recommending this. Yes, as with most NZ there's some good scenery on the way. But it's a long drive to what is effectively a dead end, meaning a return trip of the same again. Plus the glacier doesn't offer much excitement. A slog from the car park to the foot of the glacier gave me a view of what was effectively a dirty grey quarry. There's only one place for accommodation there. It's sizeable but I don't know how you'd fare if you didn't pre-book.

Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers:

These offer more glacier like views, but there's a bit of walking to do from the car park to get close to them. A must do is a helicopter flight from Fox Glacier town. There's a landing on top, with around 15mins to walk around. It will without a doubt be the highlight of your trip should you do it. There's also heli-hikes where you get dropped of on to a glacier and go through the various tunnels and crevices.

Hokitika is an amiable little town, and the nearby Arthur's Pass which takes you over the mountains back to Christchurch is an excellent scenic drive.

Kaikoura, on the NE coast, for a whale watching trip.

I haven't done the north west corner yet, but I will next time.

As for the north island, I've only spent a day in Wellington, which was interesting. If you're time limited, then I'd suggest spending it all on the south island rather than missing chunks just to see what most people generally consider to be the lesser scenic north island.

You'll find yourself stopping frequently to explore various waterfalls, lakes etc, so progress will be slow.

Finally, on the nights that you spend away from the light pollution of towns, take a while to look up at the sky. You'll see a sky like you've never seen before. Gaseous clouds and even galaxies are visible to the naked eye. You may well end up erecting your tripod and taking some long exposures.

I forgot to mention a couple of things. You will encounter bridges that are single track, and you share with a railway line. Nothing to worry about. They trundle along slowly. And find out about a peculiar driving law they have. Something about giving way to oncoming cars that are waiting to turn across your path in to roads on your left. I only found out about it on my second trip and then it was vague information.

Finally, the New Zealanders drive like loonies. It's their sole purpose in life to overtake you just to sit in front of you doing the same speed. On my last trip I was driving along a winding coastal road, at the speed limit. An articulated lorry came hard up behind me, then eventually overtook me - on a blind bend. Scary stuff.
 
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"A pity about the wildlife I wanted a particular bird, I don't know what its called yet but it is green & brown with red under the wings..."

That sounds like our Kea! They're the world's only Alpine parrot and make sensational photo subjects as they're beautiful and extremely tame and curious. I'm not the only person to have had one spot it's own reflection in my lens and come right up to the camera to check out the "new" bird!

They generally live above the bushline and there's a spot near here (Wanaka) where you'll get them in summer but it sounds like it is maybe more of a hike than you want. So your best bets for kea shots are around the ski fields (which mostly close on the first weekend in October) or at the high point of the Milford road just east of the tunnel entrance or in Arthur's Pass.

One wee word of warning. Keas' appeal is matched by their destructiveness so watch out for your gear around them. Also please don't offer them food to entice them towards the camera.

Happy to pass on any more info I can if you have specific queries?
 
Green/ Brown bird, Kea?? Is this what you were hoping to photograph? As already noted lots of them along Arthurs Pass.


Kea
by MJK Canon, on Flickr

If you don't want to use a mainstream vehicle hire company there is a company on the South Island that does camper vans with some funky paint jobs. Can't think of the name but may be worth a Google search...
 
MG TF 135 said:
If you don't want to use a mainstream vehicle hire company there is a company on the South Island that does camper vans with some funky paint jobs. Can't think of the name but may be worth a Google search...
Click to expand...

Wicked Campers

p847544692.jpg
 
MisterE said:
Christchurch:

Tram tour. The nearby coastline road up in the hills and the Lyttleton area. Great views. There's also a cable car that's worth going up. Christchurch has a decent aeroplane museum if you're that way inclined.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the trams and the cable car are apparently still out of action following the earthquakes, and probably other attractions as well. I remember enjoying a visit to the Antartica exhibition centre next to Cristchurch Airport.

Random memories: For wildlife, plenty seals and black swans, with a few other birds. The wekas on the South Island were fun to watch, and the all-black oyster catchers are something different. There are whale watching trips out of Kaikoura, though ours was a bit of a failure, and the royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head, near Dunedin. On the North island the highlight was the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers. We did that as a tractor & trailer ride along the coast, which was great fun.

For scenery, the west and north coasts of South Island and Coramandel are great, but we only toured for 5 weeks, so we missed lots of good areas. For example, I remember heading from Nelson to the ferry at Picton thinking I'd like to spend more time on that coast.

There are plenty opportunities for urban landscape photography in Singapore, not just the popular picture postcard shots. The Little India area, which was near where we stayed, is a good example. The Botanic Gardens are worth a visit to see the orchids and the glasshouse built for plants which can't stand the heat outside......
 
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