No this is not a Kiwi. Kiwis are active at night which makes it hard to catch them on a photo. This is a Buff Weka – also a flightless quite large bird – but active during the day :-). The species is endemic to New Zealand and the poulation vulnerable.
Continue reading “New Zealand’s Animals”
Okay, I can’t claim to have seen ALL the lakes in New Zealand, but the collection of my top 10 shots in this post unveils the variety and beauty of some of them: Lake Matheson is located on the west side of the Southern Alps and is one of my favorits. A hidden gem with a wonderful view towards New Zealands highest mountain Aoraki/Mount Cook. Patience is needed to catch a moment of calmness.
Continue reading “New Zealand’s Lakes”
Wishing all visitors of my blog and website Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a healthy 2024!
Regular readers of my posts know about my interest in glaciers. And we all know they are becoming a rare species. The Franz Josef Glacier located on the west side of New Zealand’s Southern Alps is a very particular one. This glaicer still has the ability to grow – and does so from time to time.
Continue reading “The Franz Josef Glacier – unique on earth”
Not sure if people picture a pretty decent mountain range when they think about New Zealand. The “Southern Alps” extend roughly 500 km on the south island from northeast to southwest. The highest mountain is called “Aoraki / Mount Cook” (3’724 m) – in the picture above shown on the left. In the back the Hooker Glacier Lake and in the front the lateral-moraine of the Mueller Glacier with its proglacial lake. This spectacular photo has been taken from the Sealy Tarns Lookout. It’s a tough ascent though…
Continue reading “New Zealand’s Sounthern Alps”
Today I’d like to feature a few of the coast lines of the southern island of New Zealand. As you will see these are structures & shapes at its best! Let’s start in Kaiteriteri: beautiful red sand, white rocks, greeen trees … , yes, and blue sky. What else?
Continue reading “New Zealand’s Coasts – from red to rough”
The active geothermal area “Wai-O-Tapu” close to Rotorua, New Zealand, fascinates with its colorful springs, lakes and craters. The Champagne Pool is a hot spring that really bubbles like champagne (caused in this case by carbon dioxide*). Many minerals particularly antimony lead to the red ring around the spring*.
Continue reading “Nature as Painter – Color Festival at Wai-O-Tapu”
No, it’s not Mount Fuji from Japan. It’s Mount Taranaki (2’518 m.a.s.l.) located on the southwest of the northern island of New Zealand. The view from Lake Mangamahoe near New Plymouth is fascinating in particular early in the morning when the view is clear and sun lets the rainforrest shine is many shades of green.
Continue reading “New Zealand’s Vulcanos”
It does not really rain at the Dead Sea at all. Well, this time – in April 2023 – a quite strong thunderstorm with pouring rain hit the area. So the classic shot with blue sky was turned into a dramatic view from the salty Israelian coastline across the Dead Sea towards Jordan … and … with a double rainbow! Probably a pretty unique photo.
Continue reading “Pretty unique: A Rainbow over the Dead Sea”
Why not re-starting my blog in 2023 how I left 2022 with: my maple tree! Now that we are in May the tree shows its beautiful red fruits.
Continue reading “The Maple Tree Fruits”
structures & shapes 