5 Best Photo Locations in New Zealand

Michael Kuschei from Salzburg took a road trip through Australia and New Zealand and talked to us about the photo spots of his journey. New Zealand made a lasting impression on the 28-year-old, as he says:

"First you're travelling through very flat landscapes, then suddenly there are 3,000-meter high mountains." - Michael Kuschei

1. Whangarei

After the trip through Australia, we arrived on the North Island, where a glowworm cave was the highlight. There are various caves, some of which require an entrance fee of 100 dollars and often only allow entry for 45 minutes. However, there is also a cave whose location I unfortunately cannot disclose, so we don't potentially have to pay an entrance fee afterwards.

Whangarei is a town nearby. To enter the cave, one had to cross a small stream. Once inside the cave and your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, you see many small green dots on the ceiling. The glowworms are larvae of beetles and hang sticky threads. With their light, they attract other insects, which they then feed on. They are only found in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, we also visited such a cave, but only two dots could be seen. It could be that there were so few because they had been illuminated by tourists. It sometimes takes several hours for the shy creatures to glow again.

2. Three Sisters

An impressive place is also Taranaki with the "Three Sisters" – these are rock formations that are unfortunately gradually being eroded by the sea. To see the formations, you have to enter the beach, and you can only get there at low tide. I actually wanted to see them at sunrise, but it wasn't low tide, so I could only go during the day. One of my long exposures with this motif looks like sunrise, but it isn't.



3. Mount Cook National Park

Then we continued to the South Island. This island is better in my opinion. It is very interesting scenically. One of the destinations was Mount Cook National Park. There is a campsite right by Lake Pukaki, where you have a view of Mount Cook, which is 3,724 meters high, at sunrise and sunset.

The entire area is beautiful because Lake Pukaki glows completely turquoise due to the glacier. The sunrises and sunsets in this area are breathtaking.

From there we drove towards Queenstown. Very beautiful and modern and located directly on the lake – among other things, you can take fjord tours and watch the sun set.

4. Milford Sound

Towards the end of the route, we went to Milford Sound. We were at a campsite nearby. At sunrise, I was completely alone. (Picture available). What unfortunately surprised me there was the tide. When it came in, I was suddenly trapped on an island and had to take off my shoes to get back. So you should always pay attention to the tide there.

5. Wanaka Tree on Lake Wanaka

We also visited the Wanaka Tree – unfortunately not at sunset, but we took pictures during the day. The tree has a really interesting story. A farmer once fenced off the area with wooden posts, and one of these posts began to grow and became a tree again.

That's why the tree now stands in the water, and there are signs everywhere saying not to touch it. It is believed that it has been standing there for at least 80 years, and several branches have already broken off. Along the route, we mostly camped wild, and often had the good fortune to sleep under the stars.

Overall, we were in New Zealand for two weeks. That means: four days on the North Island of New Zealand and ten days on the South Island. It was truly an incredibly great trip that I can recommend to everyone.

More from Michael Kuschei