New Zealand Blog March 29th, 2016
March 30, 2016 at 1:46 AM
Rotorua Redwood Forest, Flight to South Island into Christchurch
Wow another great day in New Zealand. We started the day with a morning photo shoot at the Redwood Forest in Rotorua. This forest was created with the idea of bringing saplings in from different parts of the world to aid in reforestation by understanding the trees that would grow in the New Zealand climate. Many great photography within the trees.
Mid day we flew from Rotorua to Christchurch, checked into our hotel and then spent the afternoon exploring the city and Lyttleton. It was interesting to see four years after the big earth quake that devastated this region. We were lucky enough as we sat on one of the high hills looking over the harbour in Lyttleton to meet a lady name Sue who had survived the earth quake and shared her experiences of the two quakes. Even after four years the settlement and work has not begun on her home. Sue came on our coach and shared her story then took the group for a tour of her shed that she has called home for the past four years. This way she could monitor the progress of the tearing down of her house and tend her sheep in the hills. Work is supposed to start on her house within the next couple of months. It has to be torn down and built from the ground up.
We then went out to summer hill beach and check out the surfers. As I said in the opening, another great day in New Zealand. Tomorrow we take the TranzAlpine railway from Christchurch to Greymounth. The scenery will be amazing and everyone is looking forward to the trek. Enjoy the selection of images from todays part of our Journey.
As we entered the trail head of the Red Wood forest.
A fun zoom shot as we walked through the forest.
Starburst shot with the morning sun shining through the trees.
The red wood forest in B&W
This shot gives you an idea of how tall the trees.
This is the silver fern. In the forest the natives used it to find their way back to their camps in the moonlight as it acted like a reflector.
This is the trail in the sky, you can hike the forest from the tree tops.
Paul having some fun.
Gail and Ron as they board our flight to Christchurch.
The view top lookout in Littleton, it was a beautiful evening for photography.
Alexa outstanding in her field.
This is Sue's house that I wrote about on the intro today. The house was badly damaged during the earthquake four years ago and only now is set for demolition and rebuild. She has been living in her shed since the quake. Best of luck Sue, it was great to meet you and hear your story.
Still many buildings are under reconstruction since the quake.
Sometimes as your drive streets still come to an end as rebuild is still everywhere,
On many of the roads they use containers filled with sand to help hold back and potential falling rocks.
Another view, see the large piece of the hill side that has collapsed.
Many beautiful homes built on the hillside overlooking the ocean.
Summerhill is a great place for surfing.
Surfers as far as you could see or should I say photograph this evening.
Another one riding the waves.
Another shot of the surf.
Many great photo ops this evening.
Ron decided to try his hand at surfing ....
One more surf shot for this evening.
One blog item for this evening. On our flight from Vancouver to Auckland, the Canadian National Field Hockey Girls team was on our flight. The are competing here in New Zealand for the next 16 days. Good luck girls, keep the home team black sticks at bay.
That's it for this evening, check back tomorrow for more images from our New Zealand Photo Trek. Tomorrow we take the TranzAlpine Railway from coast to coast. Christchurch to Greymouth. Goodnight from the land of the Kiwi.