Wednesday 20 June 2012

FLYING OVER NZ SOUTH ISLAND

The South Island (Māori: Te Wai Pounamu) of New Zealand is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The territory of the South Island covers 151,215 square kilometres and is influenced by a temperate climate. The South Island is sometimes called the "Mainland". While it has a 33% larger landmass than the North Island, only 24% of New Zealand's 4.4 million inhabitants live in the South Island. In the early stages of European (Pākehā) settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population and wealth due to the 1860s gold rushes.

The South Island is the world's 12th-largest island. It is divided along its length by the Southern Alps, the highest peak of which is Aoraki/Mount Cook at 3754 metres (12,316 ft). There are eighteen peaks of more than 3000 metres (9800 ft) in the South Island. The east side of the island is home to the Canterbury Plains while the West Coast is famous for its rough coastlines, very high proportion of native bush, and Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. The dramatic landscape of the South Island has made it a popular location for the production of several films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of Nature Footsteps Waters meme.






15 comments:

  1. Whoa! Grand sights. Loved seeing them all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice photos from N Z!
    Interesting to see the world on the other side!

    www.minfotogen.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. amazing aerial shots! beautiful contrasting landscapes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Absolutely marvelous shots! I love all of those movies but I didn't realize they were filmed there in NZ. The aerial views are incredibly beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love seeing the snow on the mountain tops!
    so refreshing, especially since we're about to have a heat wave here in NJ

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome shots. Awesome landscape. Robin Hood and Xeena the Warrior Princess are made in NZ too.

    http://www.1sthappyfamily.com/2012/06/pool-for-hit-pillow-game.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my gush this is awesome!! So loving the aerial shot and how did you do it? ^_^ These photos are perfect!
    Thanks for joining Water World Wednesday

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree, dramatic landscapes, and stunning! As always your posts are also informative:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great shots. Not sure how you managed it unless you were wing walking at the time!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gorgeously dramatic. One day we will get to visit New Zealand.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wonderful shots, but the first photos are scary! The last one, i didn't know they have crop circles too, haha!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an amazing area... absolutely spectacular... Larry

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow, unusual to get so good shots from an airplane. I love all of them. I visited NZ soem 15years ago but we did not fly over the south island. We made a roundtrip on the ground.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you, so please comment. I appreciate constructive criticism as it improves my skills as an amateur photographer.