Ted Ralphs

Abel Tasman National Park is an amazing park along the coast of New Zealand. I hiked a part of the Abel Tasman Coastal Path, one of the most popular walks in New Zealand.

New Zealand is teeming with wildlife, especially birds. In some places, birds have no natural predators and are not afraid, which makes conditions perfect for taking pictures!

Today I explored the Marlborough sound on the northern tip of the southern island. I took a walk on the famed Queen Charlotte Track around the sound and got lots of wildlife pics.

I took the ferry from Wellington to Picton to get from the north island to the south island, on my way to Canterbury University in Christchurch. It was a very wet and cold day, as you can see in the pcitures.

For the next few days, I’m visiting Victoria University of Wellington and giving two talks.

The Whanganui River is New Zealand’s longest navigable river and was a major trade route inland on the north island at one time. Now it’s mainly the domain of tour operators. There are quite a few nice places in the area that you can only get to by boat.

Tongariro National Park is where the main ski area on the north island is located.

I spent an evening camping on Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in New Zealand. Here are some pictures taken from the place I camped.

Waitomo Caves are the caves with the famous glow worms. I went on a tubing trip through one of the caves, floating past the glow worms on the ceiling. Very cool. The caves are also in an area that’s very scenic in it’s own right.

Although the north island is said not to be as beautiful as the south island, I found the countryside to be incredibly beautiful in the south-central part where there are lots of farms. Here are some pictures.