Fotoeins Fotografie

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Posts from the ‘New Zealand’ category

Baldwin Street, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin: Baldwin Street, (2nd) steepest in the world

July 2019: The record for the world’s steepest road now belongs to Harlech, Wales (CBC News).

In Dunedin, New Zealand, make your way from the city centre, around the University of Otago to North Road, and onwards to Baldwin Street, where The Guinness Book of Records declared the latter street as “the steepest (street) in the world” in 1997. With this claim to fame, the street is touted as a place to visit in Dunedin. Anybody who’s spent time in San Francisco should take the challenge and find out whether the ascent grade on Baldwin Street approaches or exceeds their experience in the American city by the Bay.

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New Zealand: Air Safaris’ Grand Traverse flight over the Southern Alps

The majestic mountain spine along New Zealand’s South Island is known as “The Southern Alps”; the Maori Ngai Tahu name for these mountains is “kā tiritiri o te moana”. For many locations around the South Island, you cannot avoid or ignore the sight of looming towers of rock and snow.

Between visits to the Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier, I’d been thinking about whether or not I should have a look at the mountains from above. It would be beautiful, but it also seemed very expensive. What to do, what to do … it sounds stupid writing it out now, but a unique opportunity had presented itself, and I knew I’d have deep regrets if I didn’t take it.

I bit the proverbial bullet and hopped onto a plane with Air Safaris for a 50-minute “The Grand Traverse” tour including aerial views of various glaciers, Horokoau (Mount Tasman), and Aoraki (Mount Cook).

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Lake Matheson, Westland National Park, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, fotoeins.com

New Zealand: Lake Matheson & the southern Alps at sunset

Rewards go to the patient, especially those on daytime walks through the temperate rainforest to the Franz Josef Glacier and the Fox Glacier.

After all, this area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After my visit to Fox Glacier earlier in the day, I arranged for a short 10-minute shuttle from Fox Glacier town to Lake Matheson (Te Ara Kairaumati) before sunset. Even in winter’s low-season, I was surprised by how few people were around to enjoy the view.

The sequence of photos below span a period of just over one hour in time. Appearing in most of the photos are the two grand snow-frosted peaks: Mount Tasman (Horokoau) on the left and Aoraki (Mount Cook) on the right.

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New Zealand: forest walk to Fox Glacier

With coach services, I’ve been making my way down the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. I spend a couple of days around Franz Josef town, and I describe the walk from town to the Franz Josef Glacier.

Will a visit to the Fox Glacier be as memorable? To find out, I head south on Highway 6 (Haast Highway) to Fox Glacier town, some 20 kilometres from Franz Josef town. Fox Glacier town was once known as Weheka which is also the original Māori name for Cook river nearby.

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