It's funny. I had never really thought much about going to New Zealand. And I don't really know why. It wasn't that I didn't think it would be a good holiday - I knew it would be. Or that it was too much effort - it was just like travelling around in Australia. Maybe it was more I kept telling myself that places in the northern hemisphere would be more exiting? More… different?

I could not have been more wrong. I know this is not news to those of you who have been - and some many times before. It was breathtaking. Stunning. Awe-inspiring. It was challenging at times. One day we clocked up 28 kms on foot and overall it was 3,000km in a car. We travelled by plane, helicopter and boat (of the sailing, motor and jet varieties) and for someone who hates heights it sometimes felt like 'ground level' had ceased to exist. But we stayed in some of the most picturesque places I have seen and I think by the time I got home my eyes were tired from being so wide open. As the end of the holiday drew near I was madly searching New Zealand’s version of realestate.com for homes and investigating pay rates for Clinical Psychologists. I definitely did not want to leave. Do the penguins and seals of Doubtful Sound require therapy…?

Favourite place to stay? Hands down The Hermitage at Aoraki. Favourite gallery? Hokitika Glass Studio - amazing! Favourite experience? Without a doubt sailing on Doubtful Sound but as cliche as it sounds the Tasman, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers by helicopter and the Shotover Jet at Queenstown were close seconds. Unforgettable moment? Seeing the Aurora Australis at Te Anau (see comments below on luck). Best pie? This is important - Fairlie bakehouse - there is no close second. Most emotional experience? Carving pounamu with a beautiful Maori family at Te Koha, Franz Josef. Weirdest experience? I think this is a tie.... the Haast Pub (gives a whole new meaning to 'middle of nowhere') and the bizarre little single lane bridge things that are supposed to be traffic control and everyone plays chicken to get through (IYKYK). That and possibly realising that the famous Wanaka Tree is just a tree with literally hundreds of tourists all trying to take the same photo.

So speaking of photos.... here are a few (see the New Zealand 2025 Gallery under Photos). I did learn a lot from a photography perspective. Just simple things. Like my job as a photographer is to learn to take what is there. Before we left I had an idea in my head of things I would like to photograph - and what those photos should look like. But the reality is the weather and the light rarely plays nice and those stunning magazine photos we all see are usually the product of months and months of planning, trying, abandoning, getting frustrated, trying again, editing and a whole lot of luck. I think it's fair to say that none of the photos here were taken in ideal conditions. Rain, wind, sleet, snow, crowds, dust, more crowds, and often loads of tourists with selfie sticks and few manners. But the art is in capturing the mood, the feel and the beauty in the moment that is there. That and I think I learned the value of sometimes putting the camera down and being in the moment without having to capture it. Like when the aurora was dancing like sprites in the sky above Te Anau, pulsing like pink, white and green spirits across the heavens. Or when dusk fell and the sky gently settled to water level on Doubtful Sound bringing with it absolute silence in the wilderness. I can't photograph that. But I'll never forget watching it.