New Zealand Short Documentary

In January I was lucky to get the opportunity to go on a documentary film travel course to the South Island of New Zealand. Our instructors were Professor Jeff Swimmer and wildlife cinematographer Bob Poole; they both were great mentors and gave a lot of valuable advice, plus they were fun to hang out with. The course was 12 days long and I stayed an extra several travelling around the North Island with my parents, who met me over there. The first four days were spent hiking and backpacking, which is what is covered in my short documentary I made. New Zealand is a beautiful and extremely interesting area ecologically and geographically, and I really enjoyed my whole experience there.

Here is a link to my short. I would suggest turning it on HD, I apologize that the quality isn't the best, I've been wrestling with the editing software, but haven't found the best compression format yet. (The title is an obscure reference to an Of Montreal I doubt anyone will get...)

A Backpacking Tour Diary: Finding my footing in New Zealand

The Peel Forest Eco-lodge, where we stayed 2 nights.

Hiking to the top of Little Peel. Not so little.

The Rex Simpson Hut, where we backpacked to and stayed 2 nights.

At the summit (well, the false summit) of one of our day hikes.

Inside the hut, we had some very competitive Boggle games going (using a German set in the hut).

Mt. Cook in the back!

On the way to Milford Sound (really a fjord).

I was highly entertained (because it was pretty brutal) and also mortified at how invasive species were dealt with in New Zealand.

At a seriously insane thermal area.

Cathedral Cove

My parents and I at the thermal area (I know, I look extremely dorky).