While I was in Poland, Kelsey Genna & Yvette Edwards emailed me asking if I wanted to be part of a new venture they was undergoing with the title Well Travelled Bride. I jumped at the opportunity, loving the idea and as quickly as I was home in Sydney for a few short days, I was already on another plane again heading towards New Zealand. I had no idea what to expect coming in to Wanaka, but if the flight there was anything to go by, I knew I was in for a treat. I’ve never experienced a flight where almost all the people sitting in the airplane were looking out the window. We flew over the New Zealand alps, snow covered and doused in a warm glow from the sunset for about half an hour before landing in the most beautiful airport I’ve ever been to in Queenstown. As soon as I stepped off the stairs of the plane I was smiling from ear to ear, admiring all the mountains surrounding us.
My first day in New Zealand was spent location scouting with the Wanaka Tourism Board and John Bozinov, another photographer on board for the editorial. We visited mountains, lakes so clear that if the water wasn’t moving you wouldn’t even be able to tell it was there, fjords, beautiful houses nestled in the countryside and countless of beautiful sights we would be able to turn into locations for our coming shoots.
Even though our week was packed busy with full day shoots, the team and I managed to spend some time enjoying our wonderful accommodation in Wanaka, going for nights out in Queenstown, adventuring through the local Mount Aspiring National Park and visiting the local sights in Wanaka such as That Wanaka Tree. We made a couple of trips to the picturesque town of Queenstown throughout our week staying and shooting in Wanaka. The little city is shadowed by a tall wall of redwood trees that you can see from the streets as you walk around. I was in love with it! We came back on our last night for a couple of drinks to celebrate an amazing week of working together. We ate at Ferg Burger, which is a must do in Queenstown - every time we saw it the line was out the door and trickling onto the street walkway.
A few moments from our time in Wanaka I will never forget include a day where we were taken on a private helicopter ride to the top of Fog Peak. I flew around our models with the helicopter door open and it was truly something I will never forget. You can read the whole story and see all the pictures from that day here!
We had a day scheduled to shoot at the top of Treble Cone. Early in the morning we packed the van full of goodies and headed up to Treble Cone to have a picnic with a view. When we got to the entrance of the mountain and started driving up in our van, Yvette didn't have much faith that she could get us up to the top. So we sat around in the carpark, our hopes deflated until she decided to run up to some strangers and ask if they could drive us up instead. We met Tibone and his friend Alex who drove us up to the top, two French snow boarding boys who have been living in New Zealand for the past four months. We ended up having our picnic at the top of treble cone after all!
On our last day in New Zealand, we were treated to a special jetboat ride through the fjords of Mount Aspiring National Park thanks to Wilkin Jetboats. In the morning, we made our way towards the jetboat where we set off on our adventure. I’ve never seen water so clear and so blue before, I couldn't stop taking pictures of it. We were taken through the valley of the mountains where we would get closer and closer to the snow in the distance. It felt like we were being taken through completely untouched land that no one has walked on or been to before. We were dropped off on an island where we had a picnic set up and waiting for us. We had some snacks, red wine and some well known kiwi food including the whitebait fritters that were caught locally and cooked right in front of us.
Wanaka, you were seriously one amazing adventure and I’m dreaming of coming back one day soon!
I just wanted to say a big BIG thank you to
Well Travelled Bride
Wanaka Tourism Board &
Air New Zealand
for letting this wonderful adventure happen!
all photos edited with my Wedding Collection Lightroom Preset
