Watercolor

Of all the things that astonished us in New Zealand, I think the thing we most consistently marvelled at on our journey through the South Island was the color of water.

Whether river, lake or ocean, New Zealand’s waters have the most incredible aquas, turquoises, greens, and blues that we have ever seen.

We never expected to see rivers whose milky waters ranged from pale blue to bright turquoise to celadon green.

We thought the turquoise splendor of lakes Tekapo and Pukaki could not be beaten…

…but then we drove along the shores of lakes Wanaka, Te Anau and Wakatipu.

We thought nothing could be more breath-taking than the north east coast seashore from Waranui to Goose Bay…

but then we drove from Nugget Point to Kaka Point and Taieri Mouth to Brighton Beach along the southwest coast.

Maybe it’s the play of sunlight and cloud in Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud, or some property of the air or angle of the sun, but whatever it is, it makes for the most sublime liquid scenery anywhere in the world.