Marshalls Abroad

Life

Canterbury, New Zealand: Lavender Fields & Lambs

{I found Cam walking right up to the seals on the beach and I fell in love with every precious lambie}

New Zealand is without a doubt the most breathtakingly beautiful place we have ever seen.

Within an afternoon you can be sitting in a natural hot spring in a rainforest next to a glacier, then be surrounded by hundreds of waterfalls as you wind along a narrow road in the mountains, then be on a sunny cliff side beach, and then be in a meadow of flowers hiking in the alps. I have so many photos to share, and not a single one of them captures the vast and exquisite creativity that New Zealand radiates. I think one of the beauties of travel is that it’s been teaching us about God’s creativity. There is truly none other that could get the glory for such a place. The adjective we kept repeating — was magical.

There are sheep herds and bebe lambs literally everywhere {there’s more sheep than people!}; cattle, deer, reindeer, horses, lamas freely grazing on the greenest rolling hills and mountain peaks; colorful flowers as far as the eye can see; rivers, streams and waterfalls in the brightest shade of turquoise. It is so unbelievably magical. And the wine!!! AMAZING. And the food!!! AMAZING. Everything is so fresh. Including the to-die-for cheese. What joy you bries, goudas, pecorinos, cheddars brought that husband of mine! There also isn’t a single feedlot on the south island. Everything is free-range and local. And the wildflowers. Oh the wildflowers. I could not believe my eyes.

It took about 24 hours of travel to get there and as soon as we landed mid-morning, we picked up our campervan {ha, so many awesome stories to come} and headed up the coast. We spent most of the first afternoon in fields of lavender, roses and lupin, taking in the wonderful scents, fresh air, and vistas of snow-capped mountains and baaing lambs. It was like heaven.

And then came the vineyards…


Comments

  1. Sophie says

    omg! mands it sounds AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! MIND BLOWING! your photos are insane. and you and cam are just beautiful!
    coming from australia, we always tend to overlook NZ, instead always wanting to visit far away places. but now…i HAVE to get there! so glad that it will be on our doorstep when george and i move back to sydney in 2 years 🙂 x x x

  4. Tamaras Blend says

    Ok, this looks like heaven. AMAZING photos, great job, I think you got the atmosphere really well (and you made me want to go there asap… definitely putting New Zealand to priority on travel list). It looks more like a fairytale than real world, all that sheep, lavender (the bike with the lavender <3), I am speechless.

  5. Laura C. Pita says

    Oh My!!!! These pictures are breathtaking!!! Definitely adding New Zealand on our Travel List of places to go while living in Okinawa. I HAVE to read more about this trip!! ^__^ Where did you stay, What are the need-to-go places, etc. These pictures just sealed the deal! 😉

    xoxo

    theinspirationsparks.blogspot.com

  6. Lorraine says

    Made me get my NZ photos and look at them all over again, so so beautiful, you have captured it so well, can't wait for more stories and pictures to come…..x

  7. Kristina says

    WOW! The pictures are wonderful! I always imagined NZ to be magical – but this??! I have have have to go there next year!! Looking forward to see many more pictures! x

  10. Rachel says

    I got goosebumps reading this 🙂 I have always wanted to travel through New Zealand {and it does in fact look magical}! Thank you for sharing your beautiful photographs with us and I can't wait to hear more about the trip!

  12. cupcakemondays.com says

    Oh sweet goodness! I don't even know what to write. Absolutely breathtaking. I can't get enough of the sweet lamby pics and the last photo of you two on the bench. Yup, canvas that thing! Can't wait to see more!

  13. Casey Martin says

    Your description of the land sounds like what I felt about Iceland recently, just "magical" as you put it and you aren't sure how to describe it to other people. Beautiful photos.

  15. Paragon2Pieces says

    beautiful pictures! i went to the south island to celebrate finishing grad school and would love to return. thanks for posting these beautiful pictures that brought the memories flooding back 🙂

  19. madeleine says

    ohhhh the navy football shirt. I'm glad to see someone else's husband wears it everywhere still! I have been showing Craig all your pictures from this trip!

  28. Melanie Fontaine says

    New Zealand looks so beautiful! I have been dreaming about going there for such a long time, but considering that NZ is pretty much as far from Europe as you can get, that will probably continue to stay a dream… for now, at least! 🙂 I am super excited to see more of your journey!

    xx Melanie

  29. Gaby says

    husband and i were supposed to go back to nz this month but sadly it fell through at the last minute. it's one of my favourite places on earth. are you doing both islands?

  32. Mrs. H says

    Oh my goodness these pictures are just gorgeous! So glad that y'all had a wonderful trip!

    Xo, B
    Brooklynstateofmindblog.blogspot.com

  33. Elizabeth @The Better Belle Project says

    This all looks stunning! Your photos are always so amazing!

    I did have a question for you, when you get such cute photos of your and your husband together, how do you do it? Do you bring your tripod everywhere or just ask passersby to take it?

  35. Tim and Lanna Britt says

    Meh… doesn't look all that great. Turquoise waters? I mean the Potomac is JUST as blue (when you see blue trash floating by…)
    Fields of wildflowers? I mean our leafless trees are JUST as endearing.
    Welcoming baby lambs baaaing at you? The sounds of car horns and homeless people asking for money is pretty soothing too.
    So… think about it.
    🙂 LOVE YOU! ~lanneybear

  36. Megan says

    I recognize that Lavender Farm!!! My husband and I spent 3 weeks in NZ for our honeymoon and we stayed 3 nights at that Lavender Farm… we absolutely LOVED Kaikora and decided it was our favorite place in NZ!!!

  38. Marina D says

    Oh my goodness thank you for sharing all these beautiful pictures. I've had so much fun catching up here. I really needed that ray of sunshine. I totally agree with your post from today… My heart is still so sad 🙁

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