106 Airport Avenue, Invercargill Airport, Invercargill City

Seven day South Island Photography Tour from Invercargill to Christchurch

Seven day South Island Photography Tour from Invercargill to Christchurch

Join award winning New Zealand photographers Richard Young and Trevor Penfold on a 7-day tour showcasing some of New Zealand’s rarest wildlife and most distinctive coastal landscapes. New Zealand’s underrated East Coast is full of surprises that include fossilized forests, curious boulders, outstanding coastal scenery and a huge diversity of rare wildlife: penguins, sea lions, fur seals and albatross. This week long East Coast Tour itinerary takes in the best photographic opportunities the area has to offer. Timing is planned to make the most of New Zealand’s most settled season and catch the last of the autumn colours.

The tour the travels through the Catlins Coastal Rainforest Park, with opportunities to photograph the area’s waterfalls, rainforest, penguins and sea lions. North of the Catlins, we explore the Otago Peninsula, known as New Zealand’s wildlife capita, the Moeraki Boulders and the wildlife and dramatic coastal scenery of Kaikoura.

Day 1 – The Catlins**
**Today we head east towards the Catlins. En route we visit the South Island’s most southerly point, Waipapa and its well-known lighthouse. From here we travel inland to explore the waterfalls of the Catlins. These may not be high, but have a subtle beauty all of their own.

Day 2 - The Catlins / Otago Peninsula**
**Heading north through the Catlins, we take in sunrise at the iconic Nugget Point lighthouse. Along the Catlins coast, we will hopefully get the chance to photograph penguins and the magnificent New Zealand sea lion. The day ends at Larnach Castle, one of New Zealand’s most stately buildings, dinner here will be a culinary highlight of the tour, eating in the castle’s grand dining room.

Day 3 - Otago Peninsula**
**The Otago Peninsula; home to penguins, albatross and sea lions, is often called the wildlife capital of New Zealand. We take a boat charter to view many of these species from the sea, visit the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Southern Royal Albatross. We end the day photographing sunset over the ridges and estuaries of the peninsula.

Day 4 - Moeraki**
**Heading north along the East Coast we stop to photograph the forest birds at Orokonu and a colony of shags along the coastline here. Then we head out into the last light of the day to photograph Yellow-eyed penguins at a coastal reserve on their return from a day out at sea. Tonight we stay near Moeraki, south of Oamaru.

Day 5 - Moeraki / Kaikoura**
**An early start to photograph sunrise over the famed Moeraki Boulders which are curiously round rocks known as ‘concretions,’ set into a scenic beachscape. Further north at historic Oamaru, we have the opportunity to photograph the whitestone buildings of this heritage town. Heading further north we drive to north Canterbury, passing through vineyards in autumn colours.

Day 6 - Kaikoura**
**The Kaikoura Peninsula protrudes into the Pacific Ocean with the stunning backdrop of the Seaward Kaikoura mountains. Offshore, a deep oceanic trench which is rich in food, supports an outstanding range of seabird species and marine mammals. We take a world-class boat trip to photograph white-caped, wandering or southern royal albatross, as well as giant petrels. Back on land, we photograph fur seals, which have a large breeding colony at the peninsula.

Day 7 - Kaikoura / Christchurch**
**The Kaikoura Peninsula offers a rare opportunity to photograph the Kaikoura Mountains across the bay, with textured limestone reefs in the foreground. It is one of the best coastal photographic locations in New Zealand. In the afternoon we travel to Christchurch, stopping en route to capture the last of the autumn colours, arriving in time to meet flights or for your onward travel.

Seven day South Island Photography Tour from Invercargill to Christchurch

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