Lise from the UK had been planning her dream trip to New Zealand for many years and was ready for a plethora of photo opportunities when she arrived here!

Our first location was Kaikoura where Lise took a whale watching flight to photograph Sperm whales. The next morning we enjoyed photographing the snow-covered Kaikoura ranges before heading for the West Coast. Our evening shoot was at Punakaiki where we dodged passing showers to photograph the forested limestone landscape before going to the Pancake Rocks (pictured). We arrived in time to get the last rays of light on the rocks, and then shot images of the stormy skies as the sun set.

The next day we headed south to Fox Glacier and arrived in the afternoon to perfect conditions. We wasted no time in getting down to Lake Matheson to photograph the last light on the mountains. The reflections were breath-taking and we captured some outstanding images. The following morning was very windy up on the glacier, but Lise braved the conditions, went up on the ice and got some great photos for her efforts. While the rest of the country was being buffeted by high winds and heavy rain it was only on the glacier and near the village that we felt any wind. We decided to head down to the coast for our evening shoot and surprisingly it was totally calm there. Strange cloud patterns gave us the opportunity to shoot some moody scenes and we worked on simple, yet dramatic, sea and sky compositions.

The following morning we made our way to Queenstown where we stayed for two nights. The highlight of our time here was the visit to a mountain area near Glenorchy - mossy forest, clear waters and misty mountains combined to give us some emotive photography. Our next stop was Milford Sound and we had a clear morning for the boat trip along the fiord. As well as shooting the towering mountains we were treated with sightings of the Fiordland Crested penguin, which we were able to photograph as well. We arrived in Te Anau in the early evening after a busy, and very successful, day photographing.

We were up to day nine already and so it was time to visit the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. It was cloudy on our arrival at the village, but slowly the skies cleared and we walked up to a viewpoint of Aoraki/Mt Cook for our evening shoot. The views were breath-taking and Lise wasted no time in getting set up and photographing - as I told her that conditions change rapidly and we should shoot while we can. Well, the conditions did change and fifteen minutes later Aoraki/Mt Cook was shrouded in cloud and was not to be seen again that night. Fortunately we already had some great shots, but other people that arrived later missed out. It's amazing how just a few minutes can mean the difference between getting the shot or not.

The next morning we were out early to a great location that gave us wonderful reflections of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the surrounding Southern Alps. Outstanding photography! We then spent the rest of the day photographing at different locations in the park. The clouds rolled in late afternoon and burst into colour as the sun set, giving us a fitting finale to a very successful day's shooting.

Sadly, the time had come to return to Christchurch and so we reluctantly drove back to civilisation after eleven spectacular days in the great outdoors. Lise's email to us a couple of days later said it all:

"Once again thanks for such a great holiday: certainly one to treasure for many years; didn't want to say good bye!"

After we said goodbye to Lise we had a couple of days off to prepare for Marty's trip. He had been out here with us in March and was so impressed with the scenery that he had decided to do a trip at the height of our winter. In March he had taken three helicopter trips and had decided to get out in the choppers again to get the best possible views of the snow-covered mountains.

Our first stop was Aoraki/Mt Cook and as the weather was ideal we wasted no time in getting a helicopter flight for the last light on Aoraki/Mt Cook and the surrounding mountains. Flying at 12,500ft with the doors off, Marty battled with temperatures of -15 degrees celcius as he captured stunning imagery of New Zealand's highest peak and the Southern Alps. We had to stand him next to the fire to thaw out once we landed!

The next morning we were out early to get a colourful sunrise on the mountains, before a band of high cloud swept across the sky and dulled the sunlight. Our plan was to take a midday chopper flight around the area, but the weather wasn't co-operating so we returned to the village to watch and wait. In the mid-afternoon the skies started to clear to the south so we went up in a helicopter again to photograph the spectacular alpine scenery.

We left the village the next morning and made our way south to Wanaka. We had timed the weather well and the following morning offered us great photography before some clouds started to come in. Undeterred, Marty got on all his super-thermal clothing and we were in the air again for chopper ride number three. We flew out to the southwest where the weather was clearer, and Marty's chattering teeth kept time with his clicking camera.

Our next stop was Queenstown where for three days we had a mixture of sun, rain and snow! The plan was then to travel to Milford Sound but the road was closed due to all the snowfall, so we went as far as Te Anau in the hope that the road would be open the following morning. Thankfully, the road did open the next morning and we were able to drive down to Milford where the weather was calm and sunny. The mountains were awash with fresh snow and so it was on with the jackets and thermal pants and back in the helicopter again. The aerial views of Milford Sound, the surrounding mountains and valleys were breath-taking and Marty captured many outstanding images. After our flight we drove back to Queenstown.

The very next day we were up in a helicopter again! I was starting to lose count of all the trips we had taken. Marty had been wanting to photograph Mt Aspiring (see the Tour Gallery) and the weather in Wanaka was perfect for the flight, so we donned our thermals and away we went. This trip was beyond belief - the sky was a rich blue, we had clear views as far as the eye could see and the mountains had a thick covering of fresh snow. Marty powered through the gigabytes on his 1DS MkIII and was absolutely buzzing after this flight! From Wanaka we drove over to Fox Glacier, where the great weather continued.

A short helicopter flight (yes, another one!) the following morning took us up on to Fox Glacier for our trip to look for ice caves. There had been a huge dump of snow a few days earlier, the most they had had in many years according to the locals, and so it was slow going as we waded through two feet of snow looking for photo opportunities. Our guide found some superb ice caves and we shot them from every possible angle.

Our last location was across the east coast to Kaikoura where we photographed a brilliant sunrise taken at the water's edge with the imposing mountains in the background, and also a pod of playful Dusky dolphins.

Two weeks had now passed and Marty had thousands of photographs to his credit - I don't envy all the work he has ahead of him to sort through them all! It was great to be able to take Marty around areas he had visited earlier in the year and show him the beauty of winter at those same locations. He has some incredible images after his two trips here this year and as he gives away free prints of his work I am sure glad he doesn't live in New Zealand!