“You don’t drive through New Zealand to get somewhere; you drive it to see it. A two-hour trip easily turns into four because the landscape demands your attention every few miles. My best shots weren’t at the official lookouts, but at the random gravel pull-offs where the light hit the mountains just right for a split second, forcing me to stop yet again.”

• The Alpine Backbone: Crossing the Southern Alps feels like traveling through time. The weather changes in minutes, shifting from golden tussock grasslands to jagged, snow-capped peaks that dominate the horizon.

• Glacial Blues: The water here is a color that doesn’t feel real—bright turquoise fed by glacial flour. Standing on the shores of Lake Tekapo or Pukaki, the silence is only broken by the distant sound of shifting ice.

• The Ends of the Earth: There is a profound sense of isolation on the South Island. Whether you are on the road to Milford Sound or deep in the Lindis Pass, you feel like a small speck in a vast, ancient landscape.