This is from the Petrified forest at the south end of the south island where the petrified forest is only visible at low tide:

I totally love tree ferns and these were on a walk to one of the falls we saw:

McLean Falls in the Catlans:

Purakaunui Falls in the Catlans

Nugget Point:

Dunedin Botanical Garden:

The Southern Alps:

Me at the Moeraki Boulders:

And a beautiful Protea at the Christchurch Botanical Garden:

If you want to look at any other pics I've posted several on my PhotoBucket site below (I hope) :o) Dan

I'm constantly amazed at the beauty our planet has to offer... those boulders are fantastic, and the prehistoric look of those tree ferns... oh my!

Thanks for sharing your trip!

Thanks for sharing.

The botanical gardens are stunning and HUGE, but of course. like most botanical gardens most of the plants are imports rather than natives. The plants from South Africa do amazingly well there because of the climates being similar and the wall of Clivia around 100 feet long must be stunning when in full bloom!!

I'll post a couple of more pics for those that did not look at the album:

This is Sandfly Bay so named because the wind blows constantly and keeps the sand in your face!!

Here are a couple of NZ Sea Lions having a tussle:

A couple of additional Protea that were blooming at the Dunedin Botanical Garden:

This is a Maori meeting house......you can not enter the grounds unless invited, which of course I was not :o)

And for the bird lovers out there here is an awful shot of an Albatross......this is the only place in the world where they nest on an inhabited island so it was worth the trip on a boat around the front side to see them in flight :o) Dan

Here I am in front of the Franz Josef Glacier (it was raining):

And here is the site of my bungie jumping:

A view on our way to the Fox Glacier:

The beautiful blue of a glacier-fed lake:

And...a statue to honor the contribution made to New Zealand by the working sheep dog:

And...my friends herd of deer (they farm them like beef)sorry it's out of focus...they were running:

Mt. Cook from the air:

THEN OVER TO AUSTRALIA (or back to OZ since my trip started there)....and some wildlife:

I think this is a Lorikeet at my pal's birdfeeder:

Two sulfur-crested cockatoos that also visited:

And...me at the Dingo preserve holding one of the tamer pups that they use for education (the owner has several pairs [they mate for life] in hopes of re-introducing them into the wild in an area where they will not interbreed with domestic dogs:

Hope you enjoyed my contribution to the trip to a "far off" place....19 hours by plane, non stop!
Kristi

I really wish I could have gone to Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain there, but just no time with the experiments we were trying to do and it is a rather long drive.....many people go only to see a mountain enveloped in clouds I'm told so it is wonderful to see it from above!!

My oldest daughter is going to do a semester abroad in Brisbane, Aus. in 2011 so we need to make a trip to see her I think :o) Dan

Australia and NZ both have so much to offer... I often wish I could travel! Awe inspiring views... just awesome!