In my opinion, New Zealand may be the most amazing place on the planet. The landscapes you see in every direction are unsurpassed. The mountains, lakes, rivers, valleys are captivating and the views seem to go on forever.

Driving from Mt. Cook to Queenstown, we made a stop at Wanaka to get something to eat and enjoy an afternoon at the lake. While here, I had to have a go at the famous tree that grows near the shore…the Wanaka Willow…and by near the shore, I mean IN the lake.

On this afternoon the wind was strong, creating choppy waves in the shallow water. Most images of this tree are long exposures that flatten out the waves/water, causing a glassy/sandy effect. I have seen numerous beautiful images using this technique, primarily at sunrise or sunset. I had planned on doing something similar, but when I saw how surreal the tree looked surrounded by waves, I decided to keep the texture of the water.

This may very well be one of the most photogenic trees in the world. It has become the symbol of Wanaka and even has it’s own hashtag – #ThatWanakaTree. What is also amazing is that this tree started life as a fence post at least 77 years ago. A local historian remembers the fence back in 1939 and has watched it evolve from a "hacked off branch from nearby willows" to a symbol of determination…it has been growing slowly ever since.

The Moeraki Boulders are a group of very large spherical boulders scattered along Koekohe Beach on the South Island of New Zealand. According to local Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed ashore from the great voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand hundreds of years ago.

Scientists consider them to be geological marvels, formed around 60 million years ago in a pearl-like process that took as long as four million years. Some of the boulders weigh several tons and are up to 3 meters in diameter. Additional boulders are beginning to be exposed through continual shoreline erosion of the coastal cliffs that back the beach.

The Boulders are one of the most popular tourist attractions on the Otago Coast. And, while you would never know it from this photo, there were three large tour groups here on the morning that we visited. With some patience and a little luck, I was able to snap this image during a moment while all of the other tourists were off investigating other boulders scattered around the beach.