After leaving Otematata Sheep Station last Monday, David and I headed south through the Dansey Pass on our way to Cromwell.  As we came over a small rise, we were met by a flock of sheep being driven north.  (Just a warning, clicking on these images may seriously improve the quality of what you see.  Click at your own risk!)

We stopped the car and let the sheep work their way around us.

From our B&B in Cromwell, we headed north to photograph three popular New Zealand sites:  Mt. Cook, New Zealands highest mountain,

The Church of the Good Shepherd, a popular tourist location that is usually a favorite for the bus tours.

and, eventually, the Wanaka Tree.

David and I sat for about an hour on the shore of a river next to the church trying to get a shot that wasn’t crawling with tourists.  We got close but there’s still one guy standing there.

Then we moved on to Wanaka to photograph another famous location, the Wanaka Tree.  This willow sits in Lake Wanaka about 50 feet from shore.  You don’t usually have to fight a crowd of tourists around the tree but there are usually a number of photographers vying for a spot on the shore.  This morning wasn’t too bad.

Wednesday evening we met David’s wife, Toni, at the Queenstown airport.   She’s joining us for the rest of the trip.  After a night in a private, rural inn, The Nestledown, we headed into Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound.  It was a misty, foggy day but it seemed perfect for this family.

Despite the less than perfect weather, I was able to get some good images of the surrounding mountains.

Thursday night we stayed in a campground very similar to our KOA Campgrounds.  We each had a cabin.

Many others parked their rental campers all around us.

From Fiordland National Park, we headed south around the bottom of New Zealand to Bluff…the southern most tip of the country.

and on to Curio Bay, Tautuku Penisula and Nugget Point.  This area is known as the Catlins.

Winters here can be very windy and cold with strong winds, called the Roaring 40’s, blowing in from Anarctica.  Lots of trees end up looking like these.

There are lots of waterfalls with snowmelt filling the streams.

It’s been a week since leaving the sheep station and we’ve covered a lot of ground.   We’ve  made our way back to Christchurch again.  We’re taking a day to catch our breath and will leave tomorrow, Tuesday, for the northwest coast and eventually back to the North Island Friday or Saturday.

More later.