Here is a selection of pictures from New Zealand, more or less in the order of our trip.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/317654/index.html

You had perfect photo-op weather at Milford Sound! Looks like you had the good weather fairy in the Catlins, also.

And how do you get those good bird photos? They never stand still for me.

Thanks for sharing them.

Fantastic pictures! What kind of camera and lens did you use? My wildlife pictures usually are dots, not birds.

We are basically following your south island itiniery in 3 weeks time. Hopefully we will get some good weather too ! Thanks for the inspiring photos!

So thaaaat's what Milford Sound looks like in good weather - lucky you!

Great photos Maria, thanks for sharing.

Maria: Love the pictures. Looks like you had a terrific time in NZ. Thanks for sharing.
BillJ.

Lovely pictures Maria. Brought back some wonderful memories of my first trip to NZ last Feb/March. I think I've got the NZ bug as I cant wait to go back!

Thanks! My camera is a Canon Powershot S3 IS - it has a 12x optical zoom with image stabiliser, which is how I got some of the close ups. Between myself and my husband, who has a digital SLR, we took 1800 shots! These were just a small selection that illustrated our itinerary - now just another good memory.

great photos. I've wanted to get to New Zealand. Last trip I made it as far as Australia.. next time!!

OH MARIA!!!!!!!!!!!!
What brilliant photography!
Its just like I saw it! What a difference a lens makes. All my wildlife pics are dots too.
Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing them.

Maria, these are great, thank you so much for sharing! This is the first time that I've seen someone's photos of NZ and now I'm getting really excited about my trip which is only 3 1/2 weeks away!

hikrchik: Maria's pix are much better than mine, but if you want to see more of NZ, mine can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/calbill...7594209116164/
I couldn't get the Kea birds to sit still for me. OK, so I need a lens lesson. Thanks again Maria.
But how do you manage 1800 photos when you get home? Just curious. We had about 400 and I spent hours on them. Two problems I have: deleting the bad ones, and erasing the little disc. Terrifies me.

Hi Bill - your photos are interesting too, always nice to compare trips. The keas posed for me - not so the dolphins, most of my pictures were of the top of fins vanishing under the water! As for the 1800, only half were mine (well, perhaps more than half) my husband sorts out his own and is better at deleting some than me! We share a common filing system (year - month - location) and I backup to DVD fairly often. I made a DVD of the New Zealand ones straight away as a backup, plus now I get to see them as a screen saver of my work PC too.

Many thanks for the great pics! I go to NZ on Nov 30.