My last two days spent in New Zealand were spent on the north island, exploring Auckland, the West Coast, and Waiheke Island, a short ferry ride from Auckland on the east coast. These two days of exploring would not have happened if it weren’t for the generosity of the Todd family, the family members of Nicola, the bride of the wedding I photographed at the beginning of this trip. My schedule was simple, fly into Auckland, photograph Nicola and Kent’s wedding, then fly down to Queenstown the day after the wedding to spend 10 days with my brother. Then fly back into Auckland and spend two days in the city before my flight back to the states. I had no plans for those two days. Actually, my plan was to hang at the airport and edit photos. That was before I met so many amazing people at the wedding, including Nicola’s family. Her dad, Malcolm, suggested that I spend a few days with them and they would show me around the north island before I left. They had never met me before the wedding, and here they were welcoming me, some kid from the states, into their home as a friend. I could not be more thankful for the amazing people I meet as a photographer. As I say again and again, I love my job!
I arrived in Auckland pretty early, so we had the whole day to explore. Nicola’s brother and girlfriend, who were in town for the wedding all the way from London, decided it was a good idea to take advantage of the sun and check out a few beaches on the West Coast just outside of Auckland. On the way there we drove through this park, but not just any park. This was One Tree Hill, that’s right, the same One Tree Hill that U2 wrote a song about. Pretty dang cool…
Here’s a view of downtown Auckland from the park…
A view of Piha Beach, famous for its great surfing…
The next morning we woke up early and headed to the harbor in downtown Auckland to catch a ferry to Waiheke Island, a small island on the east coast known for it’s beautiful landscapes and wineries. Malcolm travels the country to check the quality of wool on different farms, so the reason for the trip was to visit a farm on the island while they have their semi-annual sheep shear. Yup, a traditional New Zealand sheep shear, this was going to be interesting. Here’s my very gracious host, Malcolm…
Here’s Malcolm opening the gate to the farm…
There’s are tons of sheep in New Zealand, TONS…
*PLEASE NOTE: No sheep were harmed in the making of these photos. Actually, I think they quite enjoyed the haircut, they all looked pretty refreshed after getting rid of all that wool. Now they’re ready for summertime…
Here’s Malcolm checking out the quality of the wool…
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