JFM Photography

It is a rugged land of New Zealand’s largest glaciers, with glaciers covering an impressive 40% of the park with 19 peaks over 3,000 meters including New Zealand's highest mountain, Aoraki/Mount Cook. New Zealand's only International Dark Sky Reserve.

It is a rugged land of New Zealand’s largest glaciers, with glaciers covering an impressive 40% of the park with 19 peaks over 3,000 metres including New Zealand's highest mountain, Aoraki/Mount Cook. New Zealand's only International Dark Sky Reserve.

To Ngāi Tahu, Aoraki represents the most sacred of ancestors, from whom Ngāi Tahu descend and who provide the iwi with its sense of communal identity, solidarity and purpose. The ancestor embodied in the mountain remains the physical manifestation of Aoraki, the link between the supernatural and the natural world.

Mount Aorak/ Mt Cook in the background the Tasman valley is located just outside in Mount Cook Village on New Zealand's South Island. Named after Abel Tasman is officially recognized as the first European to 'discover' New Zealand in 1642.

Māori - Aorangi or Aoraki, meaning cloud piercer. The highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height is 3,724 meters (12,218 feet).

Mallards - Autumn on the Otakaro (Avon) River at the Mona Vale Garden Park, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.

It is a massive area of wilderness - glaciers, snowfields, mountains, valleys and wildlife habitats that require days of hiking to reach. To the west of the divide, where rainfall is plentiful, the beech forest comes with a sound track of birdsong and waterfalls.

Close up of the three Mallards - Autumn on the Otakaro (Avon) River at the Mona Vale Garden Park, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Māori name for this area of Mirror Lakes a set of lakes lying north of Lake Te Anau & immediately to the west of the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound in New Zealand. The Ngai Tahu, the local Māori tribe, recognize the area as the home of Atua, or gods. The Māori used to travel through the park's valleys to collect greenstone, a translucent greenstone that was used to make jewelry. The reflections are of the Earl Mountains. Mirror Lakes Fiordland Nat’l Park, New Zealand.

The Wood Duck’s nest in tree holes & have strong claws for perching in trees. Ducklings have to jump 10 meters to the ground leaving the nest. These are native to North America but are here in the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. 60 Hussey Rd., Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Milford Sound is often referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" due to its breathtaking landscapes. Towering cliffs, dramatic waterfalls, lush rainforests, and crystal-clear waters.

The mossy silver Beech tree’s branches are located on the banks of the Tutoko River, Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound, New Zealand. The Tutoko River is named after an important rangatira chief who lived in the region. The physical mountains & rivers are connected to the spiritual worlds through whakapapa (genealogy) to the gods via their mauri/life force.

The Te Awa Whakatipu (Māori name) - Dart River valley is located on the South Island of New Zealand near city of Queenstown. But more accurately the small town of Glenorchy/ a former stop on the ferry route (no longer running) is the beginning of the area called “Paradise” accessible by a jet boat ride up the shallow murky milky river water filled with “glacier flour” a fine dust of rock pulverized by the glacier.  The Dart River valley was the location for many scenes filmed for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Examples are Isengard, filmed at Dan's Paddock, and Lothlórien in the old oak forests slightly further north. The Dart River Māori name is Whakatipu Kā Tuka, the Hollyford River.

The Te Awa Whakatipu (Māori name) - Dart River valley is located on the South Island of New Zealand near city of Queenstown. But more accurately the small town of Glenorchy/ a former stop on the ferry route (no longer running) is the beginning of the area called “Paradise”.

The Romney are the popular breed being medium to large, heavy-bodied sheep, with good wool cover all over their bodies and heads. Romneys are dual-purpose sheep, bred for both wool and meat.