After a week long hiatus, today’s Friday Travel Photo brings you to a pull-off on the Queenstown to Glenorchy Road.
On a clear day, it’s an epic 45 minute drive from busy Queenstown to the quaint little village of Glenorchy. The road twists, turns, and skirts along the shores of Lake Wakatipu with excellent views of Afton Peak and the surrounding mountains.
Once you arrive in Glenorchy, there are heaps of hikes in the area and the Routeburn Track starts 20 minutes outside of the village. After your hike, warm up by the fire with a pint of Speights at the Glenorchy Hotel – a great South Island pub.
On most days, this view would show the mountains in the distance rising from the vivid blue waters of Lake Wakatipu.
On the evening I snapped these shots, the clouds had dropped to the lake level resulting in this stunning series of photos.
It was an epic, if not freezing, place to watch the sunset.
Do you have a photo you’d like featured here? Drop an email to matt <at> backpackingmatt <dot> com, and I’ll gladly feature it with a link back to your blog.
Backpacking Matt 
wow Matt – those are some amazing pictures! 🙂
Those clouds don’t even look real! It seems like a fantasy land… It’s almost too beautiful!
These photos are absolutely beautiful! I love the drive along to Glenorchy, which is beautiful all the time, but you were particularly lucky to catch such a beautiful selection of colours. This makes me miss New Zealand, can’t wait to go back!
Great shots Matt… I love the look of mountains above the clouds and you captured them here!
Beautiful photographs, Matt. The shots of the lake are breathtaking!