Photos 2006 - South Island Postcards

Photos - 2006 - NZ South Island Postcards

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Photos - 2006

Postcards

These postcards are from July 2006, when we went to the north part of the South Island on a driving holiday. We weren't too happy with our own photos so decided to scan & show the postcards we bought.

The complete text on the reverse of the postcard is provided below the postcard image.

(However, we are also not very happy with the scanner, despite scanning at 600 dpi. We now have a Brother multi-function device, which is giving inferior images; up until now we have used a Canon multi-function device, which was superior both in scanned images and bundled software - and scanned just fine at 300 dpi. If you're in the market for a device, we suggest Canon.)

Images used with permission; © as shown. Click on an image to see a larger picture.

Female NZ Fur Seal and Pup

Kaikoura Township & the Seaward Kaikoura Ranges

The Whale Watch Vessel "Wheketere" (Giant Squid) & Resident Sperm Whales

Immature Wandering Albatross

A sperm whale dives a few kilometres of NZ's Kaikoura coast. Herds of sperm whales congregate all year taking advantage of plentiful food resources, primarily squid

A pair of dusky dolphins leaping from the sea off Kaikoura. These gregarious & acrobatic dolphins are commonly seen in large groups along the coast during the summer months.

Hector's Dolphin - Cephalorhynchus Hectori - world's smallest dolphin grows to 1.5M (5 feet); found only in NZ coastal waters; rare and endangered

Intentionally blank

Christchurch, NZ. Dominating the Square is Christ Church Cathedral, which was begun in 1864 and completed in 1904. Climb the 133 steps to the balconies for an elevated panorama of the city, Port Hills, plains and distant Southern Alps. Chalice, by sculptor Neil Dawson is floodlit at night. Native leaf patterns which reflect the native ecosystem of the space are created from aluminium and fixed to a repeated hexagon structure

Christchurch, NZ. Christ Church Cathedral makes a magnificent spectacle when floodlit at night. Cathedral Square, once little more than a tramway shunting yard, is now a "people's place" where pedestrians stroll amid trees and shrubs.

An aerial view of the Rakaia Gorge with Mount Hutt on the left. The Rakaia River flows from the Southern Alps through the narrow Rakaia Gorge to emerge into a wide shingle bed crossing Canterbury Plains to the coast.

The Tranz Alpine. A coast to coast rail adventure between Christchurch and Greymouth. The train travels across the flat Canterbury Plains following the Waimakariri River and the great gorges which have been torn through the mountains, through the towering Southern Alps to the rain forests of the West Coast. South Island NZ.

(We drove, we didn't travel by the train, but we've heard of it.)

The Bealey Hotel: Motel and budget travellers accommodation with own restaurant and bar facilities; 12 km east of Arthur's Pass on State Highway 73.
Ph +613-318-9277 Fax +613-318-9014

Arthur's Pass, NZ. The Arthur's Pass road was originally a route for horse drawn coaches from Canterbury to the Westland goldfields. Today, although the shortest of the alpine routes, it is still the most historic, most scenic, and demanding, as it winds its way over the spine of the Southern Alps.

Travel down the West Coast of the South Island and you will see the Buller Gorge, the Motokiekie Rocks, Nikau Palms, the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, the fabulous reflections in Lake Matherson, Franz Josef Glacier and the flowering Rata, Lake Wahapo and the Gates of Haast Bridge in South Westland. South Island NZ.

(We didn't see all these things)

Weka. (Gallirallus australis) 53 cm from head to tail, it is a tough, hardy and cheeky bird. The Weka is most active at dusk, although flightless, it can run very fast. The Weka's preferred habitat is scrub country, at the edge of the forest. Its plumage is mainly brown and black, and they are often mistaken as a Kiwi.

Driven by a northerly swell, sea water surges through blowholes in the pancake rock formations at Punakaiki on the West Coast of NZ's South Island.

(top left to right)

Tui - One of the finest songsters in the NZ forest. Identified by the white feathers at its throat.
Bellbird - So names because of its bell-like call

Wood Pigeon - This beautiful plumaged bird once formed a staple item of early Maori food.

Kea - A NZ Mountain Parrot which lives above the forest line and is well known by trampers for its comical antics and inquisitive nature.
Kiwi - NZ's national bird, the flightless Kiwi is seldom seen in daylight, preferring to forage for its food at night in dense forest.

Red Crown Parakeet - Rare on mainland NZ, normally found on offshore islands living in the native bush.

We didn't get far enough south the see Fiordland & Milford Sound, but the photos were too good to pass up; maybe next time we can go there

Mitre Peak in winter, reflected in the waters of Milford Sound, Fiordland, in the 2.6 million hectare South-West NZ World Heritage Area.

A large waterfall plunging into Milford Sound turns to fine spray and is blown uphill by gale-force winds generated in a heavy storm over Fiordland National Park.