Wandering Fractal

The Weka is a flightless bird endemic of New Zealand. On the south island, I went sea kayaking and trekking in the Abel Tasman National Park. There I could see: stingrays, seals, fishes, cormorant and the Weka. The best experience was sleeping in a boat in the middle of the park, where we could admire the Milky way in the sky and a bio-luminescent sea around the boat. The water was filled by plankton that would emit light if disturbed, thus moving your arm in the sea would make it glow. All the fishes moving around the boat where leaving a trail of light. It was a magical night. Part of the park seen from the trail. Cormorant. Swimming back to the boat after having jumped from its roof. Drifted stick on the beach growing back.

View of the city from the botanical garden. Capital of New Zealand, Wellington is a small city full of charm. It's also the gateway to the south island. Ferry is used to go on the south island.

Looks like a night sky, but it's actually the ceiling of a cave. Waitomo is a place where the ground is made of karst, thus the rocks are easily eroded by water. This creates deep caves and underground river systems. This is the preferred habitat of the New Zealand Glowworms. This larvae lives suspended in a silk hammock from where it drops several sticky threads. It lures prey by emitting a bio-luminescent light. Once an insect get stuck in the thread, the larvae real in the silk like a fishing line and eat the victim. The caves found in Waitomo are covered by a constellation of glowworms that make them look like a starry night. Sticky silk thread produced by the glowworms. Taking pictures from a moving boat on an underground river can give some nice effect. Bush around Waitomo.

Geyser in Te Puia. Rotorua is a city in a highly volcanic area. The first thing you will notice when arriving is that the whole city smell like rotten eggs. Volcanic water and fumes comes out from everywhere. I visited the Te Puia, a park run by the Maori of the nearby village. It mixes geysers and bubbling mud with a presentation of Maori culture. Another place to visit is the redwoods forest. More than a 100 years ago the government decided to plant various tree species to determine which one would grow better on New Zealand soil. The best species would be used for timber exportation. The redwoods forest is now a great day hike place. While walking on its trails you will encounter a huge mix of trees, from native ones to the Californians sequoia. Volcanic mudd in Te Puia. Small volcanic pond in the city. Volcanic spring in the Redwoods forest. The sulfur in the water keep the dead branches from degrading and gives the water this beautiful blue color. R...

Tuvalu dancers and singers. First stop in New Zealand: Auckland. Biggest city with a population of 1.6 million. I wasn't too fond of the place, too hipster for me, but I was lucky to be there during the Pasifika festival. Held once a year, it gathers all the pacific island countries for a big cultural exchange. I could experience traditional dance, food and crafts. Meat and vegetables slow cooked in a buried hole. Hawaiian dancers.