Travel Magazine Queenstown to Kaikoura New Zealand November 2016

EDITORS NOTE

Kia Ora and Hello Welcome to the brand new look and expanded issue of the Queenstown to Kaikoura Online Magazine, its been quite a while since we last put out the mag in this format, and with all our research on what our followers want we have found that people still love to read stories in this way as well as the blog, so here we go, our readers have spoken and we have listened, You will still see the articles here on the blog as well, so we are delivering the information now in two formats, one here and the same on the blog.

Its has been an amazing few months for us, we had our last Travel Showcase Series in May from Queenstown to Lake Tekapo with our crew of photographers and social media influencers. Much fun and connections were made and we are now getting close to the next series in a week or so in Kaikoura and

I have been lucky enough to travel the world in my younger years and what I have learned is wherever you go, most people are at the core the same. We are all seeking and searching for our true purpose, all looking for something, travel is an amazing way to get to know yourself, build courage and make connections with others from all over the world

Christchurch & Canterbury. The exicting news for us is our new partnership with Adobe Australia New Zealand and the creation of our travel hashtag with them #AdobeTravelNZ. You will see some new developments with our event series in 2017.

For the travellers out there, you can find out the awesome places to visit in this beautiful country I am lucky enough to call my home, and in particular the diversity of the rugged South Island of New Zealand here at #QueenstowntoKaikoura.

Together with our other event partners and Mark Gee of the Art of Night Photography, we hope you are inspired to learn from us all the tips and ideas that can help you build your tourism business online.

Enjoy & happy travels.

Rachel Gillespie is a Mum of 3, she started KaikouraNZ 4 years ago which has now grown into the Queenstown to Kaikoura NZ Travel Trail. Her philosophy is to collaborate with others and share this amazing country for all to enjoy.

Editor, Rachel Gillespie QUEENSTOWN TO KAIKOURA NZ LIMITED Top: “The Office� Mackenzie Country Bottom: Lindis Pass, Macknenzie Country

“Whatever you are doing today and in your life, make sure you are doing it for yourself, if you expect somebody else to fill you up, you will only end up disappointed. Take a good look inside to find your own true north.�

Rachel

Images Mark Gee Top: Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo Bottom: Tasman Glacier, Aoraki Mt Cook

credit Rachel Gillespie Mount Cook Tasman Glacier

Galaxy of Stars

with International Astrophotographer of the Year 2013 Mark Gee of The Art of Night Photography

by Rachel Gillespie

“The big inspiration came in 2009 when I saw the winning images of the Astronomy Photography of the Year Competition, and that’s when I seriously started out.”

When you think about the Universe and the Galaxy of Stars we can see with our naked eye here on Earth, how does it make you feel?

For me it inspires my heart and opens my mind to my own magnificence and the very possibility that I can be so much more than I ever imagined. I have always had a fascination with quantum physics, astrology and astronomy, like I am sure many of you do too, and with social media being part of our everyday lives now I started to see all these amazing images online of stunning astrophotography captures. The images that moved me the most were the work of Astrophotographer Mark Gee from The Art of Night.

Last year I became friends with Mark over a love for his photos of the night sky and beautiful sunsets when I was living in Kaikoura and discovered he was just up the road in Wellington running free workshops with groups of people, giving back and sharing his craft with other like-minded creatives, and thought wow that would be something amazing to do here in the beautiful South Island’s night sky.

So we started working on an idea to bring Mark’s photography workshops into the South Island and created the Travel Showcase Series which included Mark’s signa-

ture event “A Night of Astrophotography with Mark Gee”. I couldn’t quite believe it when he said yes to the project, and still feel today very lucky to work with one of the best photographers in the world right here in small town New Zealand, his work takes him to places teaching workshops all over the globe. I have learnt so much from Mark and the way he creates and processes his images and timelapse videos and he has encouraged me with my own work, which in its own way now has my signature on it now that it never had before.

Over the time I have known Mark one of the things that has impressed me is his strong sense of community and willingness to help out charities, he does much of this work in New Zealand and globally in places like Kenya and Africa teaching the kids about photography and raising funds for various organisations like Women’s Refuge. The one thing however that struck me the most about this talented man was his dedication to what he calls his art.

Growing up Coffs Harbour in Northern New South Wales, Australia Mark moved over to New Zealand in 2003 for a career opportunity in the New Zealand Film Industry and has been involved in many of our very well know international films.

Image - Reflections by Starlight - Mark Gee. Lake Tekapo is part of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.

This is a gold-rated dark sky reserve, in recognition of the quality of the almost light pollution-free skies of the Mackenzie Basin in New Zealand. I recently shot this image of the galactic core of our Milky Way rising behind the mountains and reflecting in Lake Tekapo.

Together with his experience in the Visual Effects and Motion Film Industry he brings a unique view to how he delivers his time lapse projects and astrophotography, In Australia Mark’s photography was mostly sports and kite surfing focused and after moving to New Zealand he realised the beauty of the night sky with less light pollution in the outer areas of Wellington, and as you often hear him say, sometimes we all need to stop, look up and enjoy, and that’s how his love for the dark skies began.

He also spends a bit of time in the South Island each year, one of the places where the stars are so bright due to no light pollution, is Lake Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook.

I am inspired to share with you some of his story from which you will learn the level of dedication it has taken him to be an international award winning photographer.

So Mark, what got you started in the astrophotography side of things?

I’ve been shooting photographs in one way or another since school. I grew up at the beach in Australia, so a lot of my early work was surf lifestyle photography. When I came to Wellington, I quickly realised it was a different kind of lifestyle here, so that’s when I discovered landscape photography. Astrophotography didn’t come too long after that - I remember going out to Castlepoint for the first time and looking up at the night sky and being totally blown away by the amount of stars that I could see. That’s when I got bitten by the astrophotography bug.

The big inspiration came in 2009 when I saw the winning images of the Astronomy Photography of the Year competition, and that’s when I seriously started out.

In your view, why is astrophotography so important?

There are many facets to astrophotography, and each has their own importance. I deal mostly with wide field astrophotography, which I feel is important as it teaches

you about the night sky, and brings awareness environment issues like light pollution.

Deep space astrophotography, which includes images photographed from the hubble telescope, is important for research and understanding our universe.

What has been your most exciting experience as an astrophotographer?

From successfully videoing the moon rising behind people on a lookout in New Zealand after a year of failed attempts, to travelling to Northern Norway to see the Aurora Borealis for the first time - I’ve had many exciting experiences as an astrophotographer. But I think the most exciting time I’ve had recently, was when close to 800 budding astrophotographers, turned up for an event I organised for International Dark Sky Week in Wellington, New Zealand - the clouds cleared, and the Milky Way was shining brightly, and the Aurora Australis made an appearance - that was one epic night I will never forget!

With your daily career being at Weta Digital these days, how did you end up in digital effects?

My career started in graphic design, but I loved film and was inspired by the visual effects, so I took a year out and learnt the ins and out of 3d animation, created a showreel and knocked on doors - finally a company on the Gold Coast in Australia gave me a chance, and the rest is history Of all the movies you’ve worked on, is there one favourite animation or special effect you get a kick out of? (What is it and why?)

That would have to be the Times Square sequence in King Kong when Kong goes on a rampage. I worked on the New York and Times Square in particular from the ground up, and it was great to see it all come together at the end.

Can you explain the amount of time required to create these spectacular images and videos?

My videos consist of real time video footage

Aoraki Mount Cook National Park Changing of the Guard

The Art of Night Photography Mark Gee

as well as time-lapse, which requires me to spend many hours under the stars just to capture a few seconds of video footage.

One of my recent videos, which I shot for International Dark Sky Week, took over three months to complete. I not only had to capture all the footage, but also had to write a script for the narration, and do my own voice overs in a makeshift recording studio in my wardrobe!

What’s been your most challenging project?

Full Moon Silhouettes was definitely my most challenging project. I had this idea to shoot a video of people silhouetted by a rising moon. I had the perfect location in mind for the people, but the difficult part was finding a location to film from where I

had a clear view of the lookout over 2km away.

I spend just over a year trying to pull it off.

So many things had to be just right for me to capture the video. I only had a period of two days each month when I could possibly shoot it, but the weather had to be absolutely perfect with no wind at all during that time. I was relying on total strangers for the video, and they had no idea they were being filmed, so they were the oblivious - but all important - performers. And the calculations for my position from which to capture the rising moon behind the people had to be quite accurate - if I was just one metre off I could have missed the shot, and that’s not an easy thing to get right when you’re 2.1km away from your subjects.

Image - Moon Silhouettes - Mark Gee. Winning image of the People and Space Category of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013.

Following on from my ‘Full Moon Silhouettes’ video, I wanted to see if I could capture a similar shot, except this time as a photographic still. Amazingly I had perfect weather again, and the location to shoot from was almost as perfect as the one from the video. You can find more info and see the ‘Full Moon Silhouettes’

“Mark’s work really started to get international recognition when he produced his piece Full Moon Silhouettes which went viral online and he received thousands of emails from all over the world of people whom he has inspired and their stories about what the video had done for their lives. It was then that people started to realise the amazing body of work that Mark had already produced.” Rachel What are your favorite destinations for taking photographs and why?

I’m really lucky where I live in Wellington, New Zealand, as I only need to travel 20 minutes out of the center of town and I’m at a location dark enough to see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

But some of my all time favourite locations lie within the Wairarapa region, just a two hour drive from Wellington. Cape Palliser is one of those locations, and I shot my award winning ‘Guiding Light to the Stars’ image there. This location is remote, yet easy to get to, and it is dark and miles away from any major light pollution, apart from the lighthouse at the Cape. The lighthouse is actually a good thing, as it illuminates the surrounding landscape perfectly for my photographs.

Anyone can point a camera at the night sky, but not all can compose a shot. Learn the basics of composition, and then work out some creative ways to compose your shots. The unique and well composed shots always stand out amongst a crowd.

Always plan your astrophotography shots well in advance and do the location scouting in the day time. And when you do get to your location at night, make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to set up and frame the shot. I usually arrive at least an hour before I plan to start shooting.

Focusing is one of the hardest things to get right in astrophotography. I use the live view method where you turn the live view function of your camera on. Then find the brightest star in the night sky and try to get it towards the centre of your lcd screen. Once you’ve done that make sure you are in manual focus. Magnify your live view screen as large as it goes (usually 10x) Rotate your focus ring until the star looks sharp. Take a photo and then zoom in on the image to check the sharpness. Hopefully your stars will be in focus and you are now good to go.

What do you love about South Island?

When processing your images, keep them natural - the night sky is beautiful enough without the need for over processing and unnatural filters.

I spend many nights looking up at the night sky in awe of just how small we are in the grand scheme of things...it certainly puts life into perspective

And finally enjoy the process of learning to shoot the night sky. It can be frustrating at times with lots of trials and tribulations, but in the end the final result will be worth it.

The South Island has many remote locations in rural areas, with very little light pollution. New Zealand is great for this, and we even have the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve on the South Island. This reserve is gold rated in recognition of the quality of the almost light-pollution-free skies of the region, and it’s also another one of my favourite places in the world to photograph the night sky.

What is your favourite photo you have taken?

What advice do you have for aspiring astrophotographers?

Have a look at others people’s work for inspiration, but try to find your own style.

My favourite photo is a picture of my son and I looking up at the Milky Way. It was shot in Kaikoura, New Zealand and was the last night of a road trip we did together. I had been trying to get a photo of us together for a long time, but he would never stand still for long enough. But on this particular night we could see the Milky Way with the naked eye and he was asking me questions about it and managed to stay still and engaged long enough for the 30 second exposure. I called the image “Universal Bonding”.

Wainui Nights

WORKSHOPS If you would love to see Mark in action he has two workshops coming up here in the South Island in the end of October and another series is coming in 2017. Mark and I have teamed up with our friends from Adobe to bring these free workshops to you.

Mark’s Awe Inspiring “Full Moon Silhouettes” has been viewed on Vimeo by over 5.7 million people

www.theartofnight.com

#THEARTOFNIGHT

Intense Aurora activity lights up the sky near Fredvang, Norway early one evening in December. We were photographing other landscapes in the area as part of The Art of Night photography workshop, when this aurora flared up and spanned the entire sky from the east to west. The Aurora looked as though it was coming from within the mountain as it danced across the sky. The moon out of frame to the right added to scene by illuminating the landscape. That night was by far the strongest aurora activity I had seen during my time in Norway.

Norway

Aurora in the Mountain

by Mark Gee

Queenstown Region Paralells

The galactic center of our Milky Way rises above farmland on the outskirts of Queenstown, New Zealand. I was taken to the location by one of the local astrophotographers and it was certainly a crazy night! We had to hike up what seemed like a never ending hill in the dark, and once we got to the top, we found ourselves dodging bullets from hunters on the property. Luckily they ended up spotting us, and after a friendly conversation, they continued on hunting in the opposite direction. It was so worth it though, especially having the opportunity to photograph scenes like this.

The Art of Night Photography Mark Gee

Mara Bushtops Africa Giraffes by Starlight

My favourite thing to do at Mara Bushtops in Africa, was to go on a night time game drive. It was quite a surreal experience really. The vehicles are fitted out with a special filtered spotlight so it doesn’t startle the animals when shone on them, and also an night vision camera. Now being an astrophotographer, I had a certain goal in mind, and that was to capture the wildlife under the night sky. It certainly isn’t the easiest thing to do, as you need an animal that is big enough to show up in frame, and they need to be standing still for at least part of the exposure time.

We decided giraffe would be the be subject for this photo, so we went out on to find some willing participants. As we found out finding giraffe isn’t the easiest thing to find at night, but after driving for around 30 minutes, we finally came across a herd. But this herd was a little reluctant to stand still, and every time I’d put my camera over the side of the truck to get a shot, the giraffes moved on. Finally about another 30 minutes later, we came across another herd that were out in a grassy plain. These giraffes were a lot happier to stay still and one was even sitting down in the grass. Ever so carefully trying not to disturb the giraffes, I lowered my camera and tripod over the side of the truck to get a shot. They seemed curious to what we were doing, and to my amazement, the giraffes stayed relatively still for the entire exposure of the shot. I managed to get 5 shots, and this one was the best of the bunch with all giraffes, except for the one on the left, staying perfectly still for the entire exposure.

Kaikoura

Kaikoura Meatworks Sunrise

by Mark Gee

#THEARTOFNIGHT

I recently went on a road trip to the South Island of New Zealand, and stopped off at the coastal township of Kaikoura. I didn’t have any accomodation so headed just out of town to freedom camp for the night. The next morning I and the other campers woke to this amazing sunrise.

#THEARTOFNIGHT

I drove out to the back country area above Hanmer Springs on the South Island of New Zealand to capture this 360 degree seamless pano of the night sky.

There’s quite a lot going on with this image - you have the Milky Way which can be seen arching over the landscape in the right of frame, and below that you can see a natural phenomena know as gravity waves. The glow in the centre of frame is from the lights of Christchurch 130km away, and to the left of that are the Magellanic Clouds, which are a duo of irregular dwarf galaxies visible only from the Southern Hemisphere.

The faint triangular glow to the far left of frame is the Zodiacal Light, which is caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, and in this case, is seen just before morning twilight.

For the tech buffs out there, this image is a 218 megapixel image made up of a stitch of 28 individual images, which were shot on a Gigapan Epic Pro. The images were shot 4 rows vertically by 7 columns horizontally, each on a 24mm lens with an exposure of a 25 second shutter at f/2.8 with an ISO 6400. The whole pano took a total of 14 minutes to shoot with all the images.

Hanmer Springs

Celestrial Drive Hanmer Springs

by Mark Gee

Tasman Val ley, Mount Cook

Valley of Stars

by Mark Gee

#THEARTOFNIGHT The Tasman Valley in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand, is an amazing place to visit by day, but once night falls, I can honestly say it’s one of the most amazing night skies you will ever see. I recently spend a night under the stars there above the glacier lake. It was a spectacular view looking down the valley, especially when the Aurora Australis lit up the sky to the south. The bright band of the Milky Way spanned overhead from east to west, and there were so many shooting stars that night, I lost count - it was certainly one incredible night under the stars to remember!

This 305 megapixel panoramic image is made up of 42 photos stitched together to create the final image.

Universal Bonding, Kaikoura

Stars of Lake Tekapo

The Night Sky - Astrophotography by The Art of Night the Photography of Mark Gee

Moonset Under the Stars, Wellington

Last Horizon, Wellington South Coast

Cape Pal liser

Guiding Light to the Stars

by Mark Gee

#THEARTOFNIGHT

Winning image of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013.

I spent a night out at Cape Palliser on the North Island of New Zealand photographing the night sky. I awoke after a few hours sleep at 5am to see the Milky Way low in the sky above Cape Palliser. The only problem was my camera gear was at the top of the lighthouse as seen in the right of this image. I had set up a time-lapse there a few hours before, so I had to climb the 250 plus steps up there to retrieve my gear before I could take this photo. By the time I got back the sky was beginning to get lighter with sunrise 2 hours away. I took a 360 degree pano, with this being crop of around 180 degrees of that.

Awards 2015 New Zealand Geographic – Winner of the Peoples Choice Award PNA - Photo nightscape Awards - Runner up in the Timelapse Category Harry Williams Astrophotography Trophy – Winner in the Solar System Category Astronomy Photographer of the Year - Short-listed in the People And Space Category Sony World Photography Awards – Commended in the Panoramic Category 2014 Astronomy Photographer of the Year - Short-listed in the Earth And Space Category The Epson International Pano Awards – Bronze Award in the Open Nature Category Adventure.com Photojournalist Competition – Overall Winner The 18th Annual Webby Awards – Nominated for the Best Viral Video Category Light Pollution UCC and Photo Contest 2014 (Korea) – 2nd Place in the UCC (User Created Content) Category The 2014 International Earth And Sky Photo Competition – 4th Place in the Against The Lights Category 12th Visual Effects Society Awards – Nominated for Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture 2013 Harry Williams Astrophotography Trophy – Highly Commended in the Artistic Category Harry Williams Astrophotography Trophy – Winner in the Artistic Category Harry Williams Astrophotography Trophy – Overall Winner Astronomy Photographer of the Year – Winner of the People And Space Category Astronomy Photographer of the Year – Winner of the Earth And Space Category Astronomy Photographer of the Year – Overall Winner The Epson International Pano Awards - Bronze Award in the Open Built Environment Category The Epson International Pano Awards - Bronze Award in the Open Built Environment Category The Epson International Pano Awards - Bronze Award in the Open Nature Category The Epson International Pano Awards - Bronze Award in the Open Nature Category The Epson International Pano Awards - Silver Award in the Open Built Environment Category The 2013 International Earth And Sky Photo Competition – Notable Mention in the Beauty of the Night Sky Category 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year – Short-listed in the Best Newcomer Category The World Open of Photography – Finalist in the Nature Category

Image right Rachel Gillespie Looking down the Tasman Valley, Mount Cook, New Zealand

About Mark Gee Mark Gee is an award winning photographer, time-lapse filmmaker & digital visual effects supervisor based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has worked on many high profile and Oscar award winning feature films. His love of the New Zealand landscape is a big part of the inspiration for his photography.

Wholly self-taught, Mark’s style of photography is influenced by his many years of experience in the feature film business, & with an eye for detail he strives to produce creative images of exceptional quality, no matter what the subject. Since he began to seriously focus on developing his photography skills over a decade ago, Mark has continuously worked on improving his craft, thriving on setting the bar ever higher and challenging himself to do better yet every time he sets out to shoot.

While his images portray a wide variety of subjects, in the past few years astrophotography in particular has captured Mark’s imagination and interest. He often ventures out to the darkest, most remote skies all around the country, enjoying the challenge of combining New Zealand’s striking landscapes with the ethereal beauty of the night sky in new, creative ways. This has led to international success with Mark being short-listed in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year every year from 2012 onwards, a finalist in the 2012 World Open of Photography, and 4th place in the 2014 International Earth and Sky Photo Competition, as well as having images published in various books and magazines.

Marks short film, ‘Full Moon Silhouettes‘ also gained him international acclaim after going viral online, and has been broadcast all over the world by the likes of CNN, The BBC, NASA and various other mainstream media.

In 2013, Mark won the prestigious Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Not only did he win it overall, but Mark also won the Earth and Space category, and the People and Space category which had never been done before in the competition’s history.

Since then, Mark has gone onto to sharing his passion and knowledge on the public speaking circuit. One of the highlights of that was his well received TEDx talk in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2014.

BY JEN HEUETT Is it just me, or does it seem that there is an abundant amount of solo female travellers these days?

Maybe I say this because I am one and am always on the lookout to connect with fellow independent females on the road. Either way, it’s awesome.

I remember my very first trip out of the U.S. at 19. I went to Rio de Janeiro with a friend of mine. Everyone thought we were crazy, were going to be murdered, robbed or raped, or all of the above. No matter what we said or did, people were not celebrating our future adventure as we hoped they would. We were about to explore a new part of the world, expand our minds, introduce ourselves to a new culture and lifestyle, and maybe even find ourselves. How could people not want us to experience this?

As expected, that trip changed my life. I was bit by the travel bug and haven’t looked back. That was 13 years ago now and I still have vivid memories of that trip. It was the catalyst to my mission; to see the world.

My first massive solo mission was to New Zealand in 2011 on a oneway ticket to Auckland. Once again, people at home were more afraid for me than I ever was, questioned my life decisions, and generally didn’t understand why I was “running away from reality.” I was actually nervous this time around as I had no direction but south to the bottom of the world. I was choosing my own adventure with no end date in sight.

It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Fast forward to 2016 and I am happy to report that solo female travellers have taken over. In the last five years, I have met more fe-

Female Solo Trav have taken ove male travellers than men! To me, it’s one of those progressions in society that I am happy to be a part of. I am a solo female traveller leading by example for others to fall in line with me. I love the blossoming of confidence, the knowing of adaptability, and breaking down the false walls of fear.

With incredible blogs like Adventuress Kate, The Young Adventuress, & The Blonde Abroad, women of all ages have channels in which they can absorb as much travel inspiration and motivation dedicated solely to the female traveller. This explosion of female travel bloggers has given the most sceptical of women a reason to get out and go solo.

When you decide to take your life into your own hands and plan an adventure on your own, you become a better, more confident, more accepting, compassionate person. You’ll be challenged, you’ll be rewarded, and most importantly, you’ll be doing this for you. No one can ever take that away. Maybe that’s why there’s so many of us on the road now.

We’re ready to create our own lives with our own rules.

vellers er ..

Jen Heuett is the creator of Travel + Trust & Wanderlust, an online community to educate, empower and inspire women to travel solo.

Her words can also be found on Huffington Post, Mind Body Green, and Travel Hooligan, her first travel company that inspires young adults to utilize the Working Holiday Visa in Australia and New Zealand.

Visit her website to download a FREE Beginner’s Guide to Travelling Solo.

Jennifer Heuett, Citizen of the World

Credit - Jen Heuett Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand

Credit - Jen Heuett Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie, New Zealand

Companies, organisations and communities have grown to learn the importance of social media and business has come to depend on people’s interests in the latest trend and what to stay away from. A lot of our future dream plans are made from the alluring pictures we see, so if your brand isn’t creating these dreams then it is going to fall behind.

I have seen first hand the remarkable transformation that a brand can achieve through innovation of advertising. Tourism boards and activity providers who sought out bloggers, Youtube stars, influential Instagram photographers and renowned journalists to create and distribute original media content showcasing the best of their activity and service.

The objective was to deliver exciting and evocative content to an online audience; photos, videos, written word that would ignite a passion within people and draw them to that destination or particular activity.

Online Influencers are now replacing online advertising. Of course the easy way out is to buy online ads, but hear me out.

The more community effort and long term investment you put into your brand the likelihood is it will prosper and become well respected profitable business.

Sales, Audience and Respect through Influence The objective of Google adwords and Facebook ads is to drive you sales. You make money, great. People enjoyed their experience, and then you buy more ads and the whole thing repeats. However, what if you could spend your money in such a way that your customers come

to you having paid for little to no online ads but instead get free advertising in the greater mainstream media and you get fresh new imagery of your service?

How can this be done?

Hire influencers that create content for you.

1. First, you need to figure out what medium best represents your brand. Is it photography, video or text?

2. Reach out to influencers and creatives that align perfectly with your brand. If you are looking for photographers then search Instagram, videographers on Youtube and writers with compelling blogs.

3. They must align with your brand. e.g. don’t bring an influential foodie skydiving as most likely both audience interests are completely different. It will not work 4. Create an interesting campaign to bring these influencers on your service and pay them to create content to distribute to their audience.

There is one caveat that usually gets overlooked. To maximise impact and avail of mainstream media the campaign itself and the content created must be unique enough for media to want to run a story of it. They’re crying out for new stories and your brand doing something compelling might be it. You will have to work with the influencer on this to brainstorm a project that will make people go “wow”.

Being featured across social media and online publications is a testament to the quality and service you open to your customers and community. You gain trust and respect that no online ad can ever create.

Where is the Return On Investment?

Should you be investing your marketing dollars into social media and influencers to create beautiful imagery and stories? On paper this is what it seems like but in actual fact you are indirectly investing money into the brand’s future and its community. Social media is the driving force behind your community and trust of your customers.

Not only will your get beautiful new content to delight your audience but also gain respect and admiration on a global scale.

The future of your brand lies in the hands of your customers, and all your customers are on social media waiting for you.

Tap into the Community to Gain Real Trust Tourism New Zealand and operators have been working with photographers and creatives to help showcase their destination as a “go to” haven. This switch to influencer marketing has a longer lasting

effect that keeps previous holiday makers reminiscing and new customers in awe to get here.

To give you an example I wanted to highlight active New Zealand Instagrammers.

They’re involved in the online community with trusting audiences and will help you reach more people while creating great media for your brand. @samdeuchrass - a landscape and travel photographer with a real creative eye in showing off the best of destinations. @shaun_jeffers - a professional photographer that’s outstanding at captivating the beauty of New Zealand. He is also the current official Hobbiton Movie Set photographer @nickrapley - you feel an emotional attachment with his imagery. The sense of adventure and the ocean starts calling you. @barekiwi - a passionate kiwi with a constant drive and love for the New Zealand adventure. His video work makes you want to get out and explore. @daxon - this is myself, with the aim of showcasing the joy of travel and re-connecting with nature.

The more online coverage you have, the more people will see you, talk about you and ultimately travel to you. Advertising is changing, changing into the hands of the people we trust and aspire to. People and brands need to put more time and work into community efforts. Be it online or offline, community will help businesses and customers help each other, which is far greater than any ignored ad could ever do.

Allan Dixon is an avid adventure and wildlife photographer with the aim of inspiring others to do more of what they want in life.

“Being featured across social media and online publications is a testament to the quality and service you open to your customers and community.

You gain trust and respect that no online ad can ever create.� www.daxon.co - allan@daxon.co

New Zealand Kea - Image Allan Dixon

The Alps 2 Ocean (A2O) is more than a cycle trail - it’s a journey that belongs amongst the world’s top journeys. Cycling from the mighty Southern Alps down to the Pacific Ocean for 301km you are taken on an adventure that spans nearly the width of the South Island. The trail is divided into nine sections, with each one offering unique scenery and attractions.

Although there are some significant hills scattered throughout the trail the general direction is a downhill slope to the ocean.

The trail ranges from an easy to intermediate grade. Each section is clearly marked on the maps with elevation, fitness & skill levels, trail surfaces, and safety notes. Some sections are easily suited for a day ride with the family, others a bit more challenging.

Riding the trail is convenient with a number of A2O official partner businesses offering trail services such as supported tours, luggage transfer, shuttles, and of course bike hire. Another options is to hire a van & trailer and take turns driving your own support vehicle. The trail is nev-

er too far from a nearby road, so it’s quite easy for all ages and fitness levels to experience some of the trail. A2O users are encouraged to purchase a $10 wristband for their ride. This contribution helps with the maintenance and improvements for the trail. The website has info on where the wristbands can be bought.

To cycle the full trail takes an average of 4-6 days. However, with so much to experience along the way there is no rush.

The A2O is more than a cycle trail – it’s 301km of attractions, dining, shopping and activities. It’s not a race but rather a leisurely journey with plenty of opportunities to get off the bike and discover the region.

Hot springs, wine tastings, boutique shops, penguin viewing, stargazing, and music concerts are just some of the enjoyable diversions along the trail.

The A2O can be enjoyed on almost any budget: from the basic backpacker level through to 5 star luxury lodges. Groceries can be purchased in bulk at the start of the trip and carried along in your support vehicle,

or you can choose to eat out along the way. It’s entirely up to you how much to spend.

A recurring theme of the A2O is how rapidly the scenery changes from day to day, sometimes several times in one day. From the snow-white icing of the Southern Alps, past turquoise glacial lakes, golden grass, verdant paddocks, towering pines, dense beech forest all the way to the sandy beach at the finish.

New Zealand has a condensed topography that is the envy of larger countries, and the A2O takes this a step further - distilling the country’s diversity into a journey that takes less than a week.

The lasting impression of the A2O is the sense of having achieved something remarkable, yet within easy grasp of anyone with even a moderate level of fitness. This is New Zealand, in all its colour and beauty - from the highest mountain, past great lakes and rivers, down to the ocean. The memory of completing such a journey will stay with you always.

top: Mount Cook Region bottom: Lake Pukaki

The Night Sky Experience

COMING SOON www.tekaposprings.co.nz

Secret Places to Photograph in Queenstown

By Jane Guy of Queenstownlife I have become one of those annoying people who stick a camera device infront of anything nowadays. There’s so much to snap at here and the sky is constantly shifting it’s impossible not to. With views coming out of your ears you’d be forgiven for just standing in the town centre for the whole of your holiday and taking photos, but there are a few sneaky places to go and get your socks and your boots fully blown off.

THE MIDDLE BIT OF SAM SUMMERS LOOP Head out of town towards Glenorchy and you’ll come across Mnt. Crichton car park.

Park up there and head over the road to the Sam Summers loop. Half way round is a little view out towards Lake Wakatipu and Lake Dispute. The whole loop takes about 2 hours, and don’t forget the little squeeze through in the rock. You’ll know what I mean when you see the sign….

THE VISTA High up on Edinburgh Drive is the vista that rivals no other. Park up and breathe it in.

I’ve seen it in all the seasons and I have to say an icy Winter’s day can’t be beat. But then I go on a Summer’s day and it gets me everytime. Take a picnic and just relax.

TOP OF THE CROWN RANGE The Crown Range road is one of the most gorgeous drives in the country, and the highest sealed pass in the country (not the highest sealed road as many think). Call me biased but I think we claim the win for the highest most photographable place on the planet. Every day the sky looks completely different (and I’ve ridden, driven and stalked my way up there on many many occasions). It’s a tough one to ride up but take your car up there on a stormy day and your camera will be grinning from ear to ear. Another note is the top of the ‘zig zags’ (first bit of the road from Queenstown side) is also a gorgeous view.

BOBS COVE Drive out along the road to Glenorchy and you come to Bob’s Cove. A little car park and trail lead you to some of the greenest water on the planet and oh so clear. You can swim, run, walk your way around the trail all the way back to 12 Mile Delta if you should wish. Sit here a while and if you’re lucky and the water is high enough, the TSS Earnslaw sometimes comes all the way into the cove.

GREY STREET/ LAKE AVENUE, FRANKTON Into the depths of Frankton streets and this one is a corker on the right evening.

Looking straight down the lake towards Fernhill and you get the most unbelievable sunsets. (I haven’t managed to bag me a sunrise yet). It’s so lovely to see all the way down towards the end of town and it’s usually very quiet. Park up your car and just sit.

WATERFRONT DOWNTOWN If you’re staying in town or hanging around eating ice creams there’s no way you’ll miss the beach at the waterfront. There’s always room to sit and just look out at the mountains (from there, Cecil and Walter from the beach) and the sky changes within minutes. The weather can also change which makes for 1) an interesting day when you’re in your bikini and suddenly it’s dropped by 10 degrees and 2) the sky can be sullen and moody one minute and clear blue the next. Get down there for the sunsets and they will seriously blow your mind. And they’re free. Whoop!

SAWPIT GULLY WALK Park up your car in Arrowtown and head down to the river. There’s a great valley of trails out of the centre of Arrowtown to walk and run and this one is so good for photos. Head left (like I do) or right towards Mace Town and you got yourself a lovely 8k loop that takes in views of Big Hill, Arrowtown and at one point, Lake Hayes. It’s hilly but worth it for your snapping. If you go either way you get a zoooooom downhill for your efforts at the end.

BALLARAT STREET Looking up at the hill from Ballarat Street you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in a movie. There’s a gondola, people throwing themselves off the hill in little parachutes and zooming down on a zipwire (cleverly hidden in the trees). I work near here so I love to stand and see what’s moving around in the sky while I’m there.

Be careful though, if you look up to much you’ll pull your neck out.

ARTHURS POINT ROAD Heading to Arrowtown through Arthur’s Point is a veritable feast for the photographer. The jet boat goes through the gully down there and the water changes colour depending on the weather. Not many places to stop but you can pull over into the carpark after the first bridge or pop down to where the jet boat starts and snap away. There’s also a cafe if you’re thirsty.

REMARKABLES ROAD Heading up to the ski field on the Remarkables Road there’s a pull over where you see this (below). I hadn’t been up there in years until an Instameet last year and I was gobsmacked that I hadn’t took my car up there on tour. You can see so much including the airport runway and the mountains beyond for a truly breathtaking morning.

Head up there at night too if you have the capabilities and camera and get the lights

Queenstown Life is is a lifestyle blog covering everything small but mighty in Queenstown and New Zealand. Cakes, hotels, where the locals go, secret trails, eats and treats.

QUEENSTOWN LIFE JANE GUY

Mount Cook National Park Pete Williams

Queenstown

The Shotover River, Arthur’s Point

by Jane Guy

Kaikoura

by Rachel Gillespie

Whales & Dolphins The Beauty of the Kaikoura Coast Having been very lucky to have lived and brought up my children in Kaikoura for 7 years has been an experience for us of a lifetime and the stunning coastline of this beautiful town is always in my heart.

I return to visit now on a regular basis and each time find the diversity of this rugged coastline to be forever changing.

There are many times you can see dusky dolphins frolicking in the bay as you drive along the road side, and seals are also a plenty. An experience out onto the water, brings many joys including the viewing of the local marine life, The most common of those being the Sperm Whale and the Dusky Dolphins, but often sightings of others like Orca, Hump-

back Whales, on occassion a Blue Whale, may pass by, Octopus, Fur Seals. Blue Penguins, many species of fish and crayfish, paua and kina.

The coastline offers many pleasures and the surf is great, however it is most well known for its Whale and Dolphin Tours.

There are flights on helicopters and planes chartered to view them from above which is a spectacular sight, and the local Whale Watching boat trip that is one of Kaikoura’s signature businesses not only for Whales but also for its history in the township.

One of my other favourites is the Dolphin Encounter swim or viewing tour where you can often see hundreds of duskies most of the year round.

Images South Pacific Helicopters

Whale tours by boat with Whale Watch Kaikoura Images Whale Watch Kaikoura Follow on Facebook for more info

Check out the Rob Pine story to see some amazing images of the dolphins

An interview with photographer “If you want to be good, 90% of what you do is NOT taking photos,” says Sam. “You have to work on business plans, marketing proposals, your personal brand image, and ensure everything you do is consistent.”

Roys Peak, Wanaka by Sam Deuchrass

Sam Deuchrass

by Rachel Gillespie One of the things I love the most about travel is the amazing people I meet and get to know along the way and learn from. And one of these guys whom is doing some great things with photography and Instagram is Sam Deuchrass.

Sam and I met at an Instameet in Kaikoura at the end of 2015 and he was just starting out, and also at our Travel Showcase in Lake Tekapo earlier this year.

Getting to know Sam has been an absolute pleasure, a very mature young man with a big vision. I asked Sam if he would be keen to share his journey with you as it’s been a pretty inspiring one for a driven 21 year old University Student studying marketing and politics at University of Otago and when he can, Professional Photography.

From Invercargill, he picked up a camera just over a year ago, took off on some adventures, started taking pictures and posting them online, people loved his style of outdoor and travel photography. One of his first inspirations was an Instameet in Wanaka in 2015 where he met fellow photographer Chris Burkard and others from all over the world. It was the start of his photography journey and Chris Burkard’s work has since become his main inspiration.

Two other recognised people, Photographer Shaun Jeffers and Travel Influencer Kyle of Bare Kiwi, NZ’s leading travel Youtube Channel helped Sam when he started out and gave him a lot of support. “I give credit to Shaun for teaching me the basics in the early days, and Kyle from Bare Kiwi, these guys gave me heaps of advice and pointed me in the right direction.” says Sam After the Instameet, Sam also started to see how social media could assist him to share his work and inspire people. “If you are not sharing your work, why are you doing it?” says Sam, “showing and sharing and affecting people with your photos.”

In regards to Instagram, Sam’s advice is to have a clear theme, keep your posts consistent to ensure this gives a message of what you are about. He has chosen New Zealand Outdoor Landscapes as his theme. His strategy is to keep it simple, don’t go too overboard with it and only one or two subjects in each image.

He also believes that you must setup as any business does a strategy for your followers to know who you are.

So he plans out what is his commitment (daily, weekly) and how can he focus on himself to progress, always raising his own standard and not becoming too complacent, staying humble and original.

“Be yourself, create your own style and surround yourself with great people, you may have to really look at that.” he says “Who do you surround yourself with, are they the people that are going to help you grow.”

He believes it is also incredibly important to diversify on more than one platform with his work, not just Instagram, using his web-

site, and other social media platforms, not just sticking to one thing.

“If you want to be good, 90% of what you do is NOT taking photos,” says Sam. “You have to work on business plans, marketing proposals, your personal brand image, and ensure everything you do is consistent.”

“I am confident approaching people, you just have to pick up the phone and talk, be pro-active, I have thought like that since I was 12 years old. My thinking is like the Steve Jobs quote: “Everything in the world is made by people who are no smarter than you.”

“My advice if you are doing this is to focus on getting out there globally, connect with places like National Geographic, Naked Planet and those kind of accounts, you never know what might happen.”

This year has been exciting for Sam with some large companies on board. Working with sponsors Samsung and Go Pro and and really starting to produce some professional content.

“I wrote down some companies I really wanted to work with, set some goals, and took a few months of selling myself to get them on board.”

“The latest project with Go Pro I am really excited about” says Sam, “they have given me a lot of creative freedom, so I can put my own take on it. “ “I view photography for me to be a vehicle that I can use to travel the world, and love working on big company projects.”

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Sam Deuchrass

Braided Rivers Tasman Valley by Neil Protheroe Images Abound

Sam Deuchrass

Sam Deuchrass

Sam Deuchrass

EXTREME ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY

with rob pine

Sperm Whale, Kaikoura

ON THE ROAD AGAIN After two years of doing the Facebook connection with KaikouraNZ Tourism, it was finally time to meet the real Rachel - the Editor of this Online Magazine. And what a super woman she is, juggling a busy life of mom with three kids and her Tourism in New Zealand business and associated projects. So when she asked me if I would be interested in writing something for her latest edition, well of course I said yes.

So where to start. Gosh to get the full picture of how I got to this point, I would have to go back 40 odd years because that was when I started jumping out of planes and where my passion for photography really began. Back then, bolting heavy cameras to a motorbike helmet to take photos of people skydiving was a much different ball game than the light weight SLR’s and Go Pro’s of today. So for decades I have been an avid Extreme Sports Photographer. Back then we called it a ‘Freefall Cameraman’ but with the expense of film and processing well I couldn’t afford to shoot much else, but now I can!

It was when I found myself in Glenorchy with not much more than a sleeping bag and a 3 legged dog that I got my first Digital SLR. And that changed everything.

Here I was flying over Lord of the Rings scenery every day and I could shoot it all for free. And as a North Island boy, the South Island and it’s ever changing, diverse landscapes attracted me like West Coast sandfly. From then on I devoted all of my spare time to exploring and shooting what I like to call ‘Cool New Zealand’.skills in roadside mechanics and during the winter months the term ‘toughen up’ certainly came into play.

Fur Seal Kaikoura

by Rob Pine

Photography of Rob Pine

The more I travelled the more subject attracted my attention and because of my skydiving and aviation background this gave me opportunity to photograph a lot of things that most people never get to see. The challenge of snapping an extreme sport’s athlete moving at speed against a dramatic background... well to me, that is the pinnacle of my photography love.

After 25 years as a full time Tandem Instructor it was time for a break and time to push the GO button on my projects and establish myself as a New Zealand photographer. Unfortunately, while passing through Auckland, a robbery took away everything I owned and life took on a whole new meaning with daily survival being the priority.

Along with my possessions, it was gutting to have lost all of my images and my projects. And with no job or home or equipment, well things got a bit desperate at times. I had to constantly tell myself that after a lifetime of skydiving where I found myself in a few life or death situations and should have died, that it was a better option to be alive with nothing... and oh look i am!

Being trapped in Auckland gave me the opportunity to get into some serious wild life photography. For over 2 years I spent many hundreds of hours out on the Hauraki Gulf amid the huge array of diverse marine life. And like extreme sports photography it is a challenge to get your shots. Nature does what it wants and to pull all of the elements together to ‘get’ the pic, to me is extremely satisfying.

With the loss of 10 years of dedicated South Island imagery it was time to get out of manic Auckland and venture south and start again. So on an oily rag and an even oilier one for my van, I arrived with the first big snow dump and ever since I have been frequenting many of my favourite places.

So that is my background to being back down in the South Island and ‘on the road again’. It has been a lot of hard yards, but finally I feel I am back in a happy place. I will be in a position to start selling some of my photography as prints soon and if I can help any of you with photography and promotion of your business then contact me through Rachel.

Here are some of my pics from over the last few months. Enjoy these images of our amazing country.

Catch up with you soon Rob

Guest Travel Blog

Tamsin Gorman

@amoungmountainsandlakes

Earnslaw Burn Track, Queenstown A short drive out of Queenstown and past Glenorchy takes you to a gem of a hike, the Earnslaw Burn Track. It can be walked all year round and has only a slight elevation of around 500 metres or so, as it follows the river bed. There is a river crossing at the start of the hike and also at the end (if you wish to stay in the rock bivvy; I will get to that later) so you will need to have river crossing experience. Do not do this track following or during rainfall.

jI parked my car at the start of the track and out hopped my friend Cassidy and myself. We took off our boots and socks and crossed the frigid Earnslaw Burn river for the first time, before following the orange track markers and heading uphill through native beech forest. I love beech forest; it’s a beautiful tree and is home to many native birds such as the South Island robin (who are extremely inquisitive!) as well as tomtits, fantails, and tūīs, all of which I heard or saw on the hike.

As we made our way through the dense forest, the light through the canopy dappled the flora at our feet, while the sound of birdsong filled the air around us. We crossed multiple small creeks, each one trickling their way downhill towards an inevitable destination; feeding the river we followed. Moss covered the exposed roots of trees and fallen logs, and on that moss was minute fungi.

After five hours, including a break for lunch, Cassidy and I reached where we could cross over to the rock bivvy. The river was flowing clear and looked to be around knee height. Off came the boots and socks again and in we went.

We reached the river bank and scrambled up to the rock bivvy. Bivvy is an understatement; it’s cavernous with a sizeable overhang. DOC have done a sterling effort in kitting it out with a sleeping platform and six mattresses.

Feeling quite hungry after the hike in, we had a small meal and a hot drink. Then, leaving our bags at the bivvy, we set off to explore the valley further.

We crossed back and hiked further along the valley, hoping to reach the place where the ice-fall on Mount Earnslaw waterfalls to the ground. However, the day was closing in and the light was fading.

While Cassidy raced off ahead to get as close as possible, I ambled along, stopping to take photos of the valley.

We didn’t reach the waterfall and just before sunset we decided to turn around and head back to the bivvy, so we weren’t hiking in the dark for too long. On the way back, in the dark, I got the fright of my life

when a wild animal jumped out in front of me. Luckily for me New Zealand isn’t full of dangerous animals and, when I shone my head-torch on it running off, it turned out to be only a deer.

Back at the bivvy we had a cup of tea before tucking up for the night. During the night I woke briefly and, from the comfort of my sleeping bag, I noticed the valley was lit by a large full moon and there were a million stars twinkling above me. I took a moment to appreciate this, before turning back over to sleep.

In the morning we woke to the sound of rain, pit-patting on the bivvy overhang.

Snugged up in our sleeping bags we were cosy and dry. We had breakfast and then went back to sleep. A little later on we awoke and began packing up. As we did, the rain stopped. We made our way down to the river, which was now in flood and looked to be about thigh deep. We took our time finding the best place to cross, scrambling through thick bush on our side of the river to get to the right spot. Hand around each other’s waist, we began to cross. We didn’t take off our boots, it was safer to leave them on and get wet feet.

After a slow and steady crossing we were on the other side. I was relieved.

During the hike back the rain held off and was very pleasant. The river crossing to reach the car was uneventful and I was pleased to change into some dry footwear and tuck into a bag of lollies stashed in my glove box.

Originally from the UK, Tamsin Gorman emigrated to New Zealand in 2010. She lives in Queenstown and is a keen tramper and photographer. Tamsin is inspired by the outstanding beauty of the South Island and loves to explore its mountains, glaciers, forests, lakes and waterfalls, capturing her adventures along the way and, in turn, inspiring and encouraging others to have adventures of their own.

Winter 2016

LAKE TEKAPO Looking back on Winter

UPCOMING EVENT DECEMBER 5-6 WWW.QUEENSTOWNTOKAIKOURA.COM

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