New Zealand

ShanerShaner Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
edited December 3, 2007 in Journeys
New Zealand...6 months living in a Van with my wife who I love more for making it without a shower, make up, kitchen...basically everything she needs. Looking at the photos and getting reminded of it all is still amazing.
p980115480-3.jpg
p716668180-3.jpg
p983008252-3.jpg
p175541444-3.jpg

Comments

  • DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited December 2, 2007
    oh come on! that's all you're gonna tell us!?! This is the journey's forum, we want the story! spill it!! :Ddeal.gif


    gorgeous shots. my fiance and I are going to visit the south island in January.
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]


  • CuongCuong Registered Users Posts: 1,508 Major grins
    edited December 2, 2007
    Magnificent. Especially #2 and #4. #2 is really like a mirror. Love the colors in #4, red roof, green chimney, weathered walls.

    Cuong
    "She Was a Little Taste of Heaven – And a One-Way Ticket to Hell!" - Max Phillips
  • ShanerShaner Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
    edited December 2, 2007
    DSC00672.jpg
    So this is the beatiful Van we lived in for just under 6 months with my freezing cold wife at the Mirror lake on the S.I.
    It was a seriously beatiful country with far more to see even though we had such a long period of time in such a small area. We arrived in Auckland in mid February after 10 days in Hawaii. Basically from the beginning we were living on credit and unsure if we had jobs to come home to. The van above was great although a bit rusty in the engine but she made it and we got what we paid for it when we left. Instead of being responsible we paid for some tickets to Australia and lived in a station wagon for a week and cruised from Brisbane to Sydney.
    The goal of the trip for me was to surf as much as possible. We mainly stayed anywhere we could by the beach and it was perfect especially for sunrise and sunset photos. If you look at my Zenfolio gallery you can see tons of the photos there. We stayed in Mt. Maunganui for a good length of time because of friends we had made through a traveling website(couchsurfing.com) and spent some quality time in Raglan, New Plymouth, Wellington, Kaikoura, Dunedin and Christchurch.
    p100341823-3.jpg
    p485138823-3.jpg
    These couple photos are from Raglan with the below photo taken by my wife.
    DSC06372.jpg
    We spent approx. 3 1/2 months on the North Island and went down to the South Island pretty much going into winter. It's pretty similar to where I live now with lots of rain, short winter days and chilly. Our van broke down on the way to this church below. The alternator went and we had left all of our stuff at some friends' place in Queenstown. Luckily we were saved by a couple coming home from Mt. Cook who were search and rescue people. They towed us into Twizel with their climbing ropes and invited us to stay the night in their million dollar log cabin they were building. That was a true blessing on this trip.
    DSC09003.jpg
    One of the most beautiful cities we found was Christchurch. It had this suburb called New Brighton which was right on the ocean. It has a pier which makes some great shots.
    p733776258-3.jpg
    Living in the van was tough at times but when you have the opportunity to share sights like these pretty much every day it seems to fly by before you realize it. We loved NZ and plan on moving there after our next baby. We had a baby boy just about 6 months ago so it will be a few years yet. Here's a few more photos and if you have any questions Dr don't hesitate to ask.
    p611605508-3.jpg
    There are about 10 sheep for every one person in NZ. This is probably one of my fav pics. I love the turnips or whatever they are and the colors.
    p615321680-3.jpg
    p169764860-3.jpg
    p218323112-3.jpg
    p221643128-4.jpg
    Thanks for the compliments on the photos guys. It sure makes it easy when it's all there for you like that. If you want to see more there are a bunch on my website linked through my profile. Thanks for looking.
    Shane
  • [b]en[b]en Registered Users Posts: 8 Beginner grinner
    edited December 3, 2007
    hey, great pics!

    currently im living in Tauranga, right next to Mt. Maunganui.

    Your trip sounds like ours, we're staying here for ten months.

    Amazing.

    And hey, you're missing some great surf these past two weeks..
    sorry for that.
  • indulgentsoulindulgentsoul Registered Users Posts: 30 Big grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    wow ...great snaps ...loved no 2 and 4 ...also liked this one

    http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/p410332257/?photo=h3D7CC22A#1031586346

    could you tell more about this snap...what is it and how long did it take for the guy to do it ....

    just curious....some lovely photos in your album....

    Nick
  • ShanerShaner Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    Thatnks for the compliments Nick,

    My wife and I were just hanging out in New Brighton and we watched the guy start his sand etching art and then I went surfing. I figure it took the guy around 4-5 hours. The photos don't do it justice. It was pretty impressive in person.
    p114559678-3.jpg

    I just searched his name on google and I found his site.
    http://www.donnellygallery.co.nz/sandart/index.html
  • borrowlenses.comborrowlenses.com Registered Users Posts: 441 Major grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    Shaner wrote:
    Thatnks for the compliments Nick,

    My wife and I were just hanging out in New Brighton and we watched the guy start his sand etching art and then I went surfing. I figure it took the guy around 4-5 hours. The photos don't do it justice. It was pretty impressive in person.

    I just searched his name on google and I found his site.
    http://www.donnellygallery.co.nz/sandart/index.html

    Wow, it looks like you are elevated over it quite a bit. Did you get on some bluff overlooking this or how was it taken?

    Max
    http://www.BorrowLenses.com
    Your professional online camera gear rental store

    Follow us on Facebook
    http://www.facebook.com/borrowlenses
  • ShanerShaner Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    We were on top of the pier in one of the above photos. It was perfect for taking pictures of other guys surfing.
  • pantherlaxpantherlax Registered Users Posts: 50 Big grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    Incredible photos! I really wanna heare more.
    And whats the native language there? Do most people speak English?
  • joglejogle Registered Users Posts: 422 Major grins
    edited December 3, 2007
    pantherlax wrote:
    Incredible photos! I really wanna heare more.
    And whats the native language there? Do most people speak English?

    Awesome photos Shaner! Learning photography has helped me realise what a gorgeous country it is that i've grown up in.

    and panther, everyone speaks English, the indigenous Maori race is about 10% of the population and only 10% of them speak the Maori Language, most as a second language.
    jamesOgle photography
    [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it." -A.Adams[/FONT]
Sign In or Register to comment.