New Zealand Winterscapes 2022
With its whitewashed winterscapes, alpine atmosphere and dramatic weather, New Zealand’s South Island is the perfect destination for winter landscape photography enthusiasts.
In July ’22, I visited the South Island to experience winter in Fiordland and the Southern Alps. It turned out to be my most productive trip of the year, and I returned with many portfolio images. Below follows the visual story of my trip.
Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu
Queenstown is an ideal central point of the trip, with easy access to Fiordland to the southwest and close to many lakes and iconic mountains to the north. Apart from being the place to be for winter activities like skiing and snowboarding, Queenstown is also surrounded by the best scenery nature has to offer and the impressive mountains around Lake Wakatipu presented the first winter scenes.
Queenstown Gardens at Blue Hour
The pine trees with the evergreen needles and the warm, yellow-orange willow trees at the lake's edge of the Queenstown Gardens provide a nice contrast with the blue water of Lake Wakatipu and mountains in the background.
Lake Wakatipu and Walter Peak Sunset Panorama
The sun-kissed Walter Peak across a calm Lake Wakatipu combined with warm-coloured clouds creates a peaceful and tranquil panorama.
Wilson Bay Tranquillity
A very calm Wilson Bay at Lake Wakatipu creates a tranquil sunset scene.
Pigeon Island
View of Lake Wakatipu towards Glenorchy with the dark Pigeon Island in the foreground.
Glenorchy and Paradise
Winter brings a special kind of beauty to Glenorchy, New Zealand. A typical first thing to photograph is the beautiful row of willow trees that grow along the banks of the Dart River. In winter, their branches are bare and their reflection in the river with the white snow-capped mountains in the background provides many compositions.
The Willow Trees of Glenorchy in Winter
Another well-known photography subject is the Red Shed which is a key feature of the Glenorchy landscape and serves as a reminder of the pioneering days of early settlement in New Zealand. The tree next to the shed grabbed my attention, as the sun was poking through the thick clouds making its bare branches stand out and creating quite a moody wintery feel, still and peaceful, like time was standing still.
The Red Shed, Glenorchy
It’s a short drive from Glenorchy to Paradise, but as you would expect, the gravel road to paradise has beautiful views along the way, so frequent stops are unavoidable.
Elevation
A high-flying bird soars in front of the mighty, 2,835 metres high East Peak of Mount Earnslaw, its silhouette contrasting sharply against the sun-lit cloud while riding the thermals that swirl up from the valley below.
Diamond Lake
Diamond Lake, just a few minutes from Paradise, is a small lake with clear and panoramic views of the surrounding mountains that were reflected beautifully.
Dart River Reflection
The distinctive peaks of Mount Nox and Mount Chaos reflected in the Dart River.
Milford Sound
The road from Te Anau to Milford Sound is beautiful year-round, but the winter season makes it even more special. Seeing snow-covered mountain peaks appear and disappear again within a few seconds due to the ever-moving clouds makes it a never-ending feast for the eye.
Milford Road
Not many of my photos have a human-made element in them, but this one I couldn't resist taking and publishing. While driving down the Milford Road, the always changing clouds above Fiordland created this amazing scene, briefly exposing this trio of snow-covered mountain peaks.
Triplets
A close-up of the three snow-covered mountain peaks. The misty clouds add an ethereal quality to the scene, as they drift slowly by and wrap the mountain peaks in a blanket of white.
Monkey Creek
Monkey Creek, a glacier-fed spring, with snow-covered peaks of the upper Hollyford Valley in the background.
Beech Tree and Mitre Peak
The top third of this image is filled with the distinctive branch of a silver beech tree covered in lichen and moss. Playing a supporting role below the tree, is the most iconic and recognisable mountain of the Milford Sound, the snow-covered Mitre Peak.
Milford Sound Winterscape
The spectacular landscape of Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand is a scenic wonder year-round, but winter brings something a little extra special. The famous mountains of Milford Sound, the snow-covered Mitre Peak and Lion Mountain, combined with the beautiful silver beech trees found at the foreshore provide an awe-inspiring landscape.
Lindis Pass
Lindis Pass, located between Queenstown and Twizel, is one of New Zealand’s most beautiful mountain passes. This alpine area of tall, tussock-covered mountains is beautiful in every season, but in winter when there’s snow around, it's particularly enchanting.
Pyramids of Lindis
The snow-covered, triangular-shaped peaks at Lindis Pass with the glowing tussock grass in the foreground.
Winter at Lindis Pass
The snow and tussock create interesting textures in the mountains at Lindis Pass, helped by the winter sun.
Around Twizel
Twizel is close to many scenic spots like the Tekapo and Ohau Lakes, Aoraki / Mount Cook, and Lake Pukaki and is an ideal basecamp to explore this area for early morning photos or day trips.
Cold Winter's Day at Aoraki / Mount Cook
The sunrise adds a bit of warmth to a cold start of a winter's day at Lake Pukaki with Aoraki / Mount Cook in the background.
Wave at Ben Ohau
Waves at Lake Ōhau with Ben Ohau in the background.
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More visual stories
A visual story about a group of recurring trees in the rural fields of Hawke’s Bay that are a recurring photography subject for Jos Buurmans. View his images and learn why revisiting the same location could help your photography.