Shoot for the top in Paradise
Theoretically, it’s only a 40-minute drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy at the head of Lake Wakatipu, but no visitor has ever made it in that time.
The scenery is too magnificent, so photo stops are obligatory.
To get the very best images you can, of subjects and views you wouldn’t find on your own, you should do a Paradise Pictures Photo Tour at the top of the lake with Laurence Belcher.
For about five hours, he will escort you around Glenorchy, suggesting shots and angles that will stun your Instagram followers, and give you a new respect for, and knowledge of, what your camera is capable of. Whether you’re practised or a newbie, Belcher’s 40 years as a professional photographer will deliver personalised tips and techniques that will improve your photography.
Why go?
Because Belcher’s aim is for everyone to feel they have genuinely experienced Paradise, getting photographic proof.
A short drive away, just past Diamond Lake, Paradise is a real place, and as gorgeous as you would expect, surrounded by snow-capped peaks, river flats and tussocky hills. Even so, framing is everything, and Belcher knows where to score the best angles.
Every visitor to Glenorchy snaps the drowned willows and the red shed, but you will be shown how to make your photos stand out.
He knows where the foreground features are to set off the scenery, when to expect the jet boat to appear in a cloud of spray and, as an optional extra, can even escort you, via helicopter, deep into Lord of the Rings
Insider tip
Non-photographer partners are encouraged to come along for the scenery and, if desired, to get free tips on camera phone photography and editing. It’s good, too, to have photos taken of both of you together against those spectacular backgrounds. Check out Belcher’s photos on his Paradise Pictures website gallery for inspiration.
On the way/nearby
You won’t want to leave, so why not stay? There’s comfort at Kinloch Lodge, ecofriendliness at Camp Glenorchy and local hospitality at Glenorchy Peaks.
You can explore the area on horseback with High Country Horses, ebike with Electric Bike Company, or take an electric fourwheel-drive with Delta Discovery. You can also whiz along the river in a jet boat or ‘‘funyak’’ with Dart River Adventures.
You can also get a taste of the Routeburn Track, get up close to animals, from a guinea pig to a Clydesdale horse, play golf, eat and drink, or simply relax in Paradise.
How much?
Two photographers pay $350 each for a tailormade course, three pay $295 each, nonphotographers $250. Single photographers pay $375 for one-on-one tuition. The Heli Glenorchy flight is an add-on, in time and cost.
Best time to go
There’s never a bad time to go to Lake Wakatipu Every season has its particular, and super-photographic, glories. paradisepictures.co.nz