Hi Graham,

Working with local expert and excellent photographer Clive Copeman, we're thrilled and proud to announce the details of what will be an incredible photography adventure in Southern New Zealand. We use top quality hotels for most of the tour, along with some cultural and culinary delights to please the most seasoned traveller. The main attraction though is that we will photograph some of the most spectacular wildlife and landscapes that New Zealand – indeed the world - has to offer.

The tour is from April 15th to 27th, and we'll be meeting international travelers in Auckland, and flying down to our starting point Dunedin together. (There's a discount for those that don't need this domestic flight and extra night.)

Full details can be seen on a special page that we've put together for this tour, but some of the highlights follow...

http://www.mbpworkshops.com/snzpa.php

Having met in Auckland on April 15th, we'll fly down to Dunedin together on the morning of the 16th to start the tour in earnest around lunch time. We'll be heading for the tip of the Otago Peninsula where we'll see and photograph cormorants, albatross, fur seals, sea lions, and the world's rarest penguin, the Hoiho or Yellow-eyed Penguin.

On the morning of your second day you'll have the option of a city walk tour to take in Dunedin's Victorian architecture, or a color managed digital workflow workshop with Martin. (We'll fit this in later if everyone wants to get out shooting.) Then we'll head back to the Peninsula to lunch and explore the stately home known to locals as Larnach Castle, before exploring some of Clive's favourite Peninsula landscape locations. Dinner will be at the quaint fishing port of Carey's Bay.

Day three will be an early start to travel north to photograph the Moeraki Boulders (aslo see above) at dawn. The boulders have been named as one of New Zealand's top ten places to photograph. In the afternoon we'll explore Otago Peninsula from the sea on board the MV Monarch, where we'll have the opportunity to photograph more seabirds and possibly the endangered Hector's dolphin.

Next day we'll make our way via the Southern Scenic route through the primeval forest of the Catlins district. Along the way there'll be opportunities to stop at the Cathedral Cave, Nugget Point lighthouse, some beautiful waterfalls and a petrified forest. From Bluff we'll take our chartered boat to Stewart Island. 85% of Stewart Island is Rakiura National Park, Rakiura being Maori for 'land of glowing skies'. This far south we'll be hoping to capture some wonderful pictures during the long dawn and dusk periods.

Your fifth day of the tour will start with a visit to Ulva Island, a protected sanctuary where we'll see some of New Zealand's unique forest birds including Yellowhead (Mohua), Red and Yellow-crowned Parakeet, Saddleback, Rifleman, Kaka, Brown creeper, Robin, Wood pigeon, Tomtits, and the flightless Weka. Then we'll have a relatively relaxing workshop or critique afternoon before an evening cruise and barbecue.

On day six we have a full day with the ocean's greatest living predator. We'll be White Shark spotting with a cage diving experience for those that dare. There are only about four places in the world where you can do this, and experts rate this one as the best. There's a very good chance of getting up close to animals 4 metres or more in length. After this we'll return to the mainland and spend the night in Invercargill.

In the morning we'll pop into Southland Museum for a photo op with a living fossil reptile species: the Tuatara. We then make our way to Lake Te Anau via Riverton and the Southern Scenic Coastal Route with plenty of scenic stops including breathtaking views of the Takitimu mountains and Lake Manapouri along the way.

Next day we head for World Heritage site Te Wahipounamu - Milford Sound (judged the world's top travel destination in the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor), with stops at the Mirror Lakes, The Chasm, and the Homer Tunnel Entrance. Once at the sound we'll cruise to the mouth, to see bottlenose dolphins, fur seals, and possibly Fiordland Crested Penguins.

Despite the many opportunities to photograph wild species on this tour, we'll be leaving nothing to chance. Our ninth day sees us visit the Te Anau wildlife centre to get up close and personal to the Takahe, a flightless bird thought to be extinct then rediscovered in the remote Murchison mountains near Te Anau in 1948. There will also be good opportunities to get close to the other forest birds such as Tui, Kea and Kaka in the aviaries.

In the afternoon, we'll make our way to New Zealand's premier resort town of Queenstown - on the shore of lake Wakatipu at the foot of the aptly named Remarkable mountains. We'll eat at a local vineyard that afternoon before driving up to capture some tussock high country scenery and what should be a spectacular mountain sunset.

While in Queenstown we'll be staying close to the lake shore in the wonderful Rees Hotel & Luxury Apartments. Then we'll enjoy a day photographing the fabulous autumn colours of the district, take a four-wheel drive journey to the breathtaking Skippers Canyon gold mining settlement before an exhilarating jet boat ride up the Shotover river.

That evening we'll take the gondola up to Queenstown's skyline restaurant for another spectacular sunset and we'll be given a traditional Maori welcome ceremony, witness and take part in the fierce Haka. If you've ever seen the All Blacks rugby team perform this intimidating war dance before a match, you'll know you're in for something very special.

The next day we'll literally be heading for Paradise, at the head of Lake Wakatipu, experience some of the scenery used in the Lord of the Rings movies, get among the New Zealand rainforest and spot forest birds near the start of the Routeburn track. You will also have the option of making the 3km walk to the tranquil lake Sylvan.

April 27 is day 12 of the tour and your final day in Queenstown. We'll be visiting to a local bird park where we'll see New Zealand's nocturnal national bird the Kiwi. Photography is not allowed in the Kiwi house, but there will be plenty of opportunities to photograph the other birds in the park's eight acres of natural setting.

Then there'll be time to pack before taking the flight back to Auckland which is included in the package. Again, if you wish to travel independently after the end of the tour, let us know and we'll refund the Queenstown-Auckland airfare.

Clive was raised in southern New Zealand where he grew to love the natural environment. He honed his photographic skills while studying Zoology at the University of Otago and for over 20 years has worked as a freelance writer and director, mainly making science and nature shows for Discovery or National Geographic channels. In addition to his writing and directing, Clive is a successful commercial photographer and also works as a photography tutor for the Southern Institute of Technology, sharing his adventures via his blog Learning To See.

In 2010 Clive was approached by a group of national and regional tourist organisations to guide a promotional photo tour of southern New Zealand. He has drawn that experience together with his knowledge and love of the region to put together this very special photo adventure.

Martin is a professional photographer based in Tokyo, Japan, though originally from England. He's been running photography tours and workshops for five years, and will be on hand the whole time during the trip, to help with any and all technical or artistic questions that you might have. Our main goal is to make sure that you have an amazing experience, whiile learning some new skills, and at the end of it all, take home the photos of a lifetime.

Martin is also a proud member of the X-Rite Coloratti, and will integrate color management advice and instruction throughout the tour.

If you want to get more of an idea of who Martin is, maybe check out his Photography Podcast, Blog or Bio.

The tour costs $NZ 7,600 per person, including a domestic flight from Auckland to and from Dunedin at the start and end of the tour, and all meals, accommodation and transportation until we disband at the end of the tour on the 27th.

To secure your spot, all you need to do is pay a $NZ 700 deposit by credit card or Paypal. Credit Card payments are processed by Paypal, or you can use your Paypal account, if you have one. Payment buttons can be found towards the bottom of the Tour Web page.

Note that we have to reach a minimum participant number of 15 before the tour can go ahead. We will let you know as soon as that number is reached, so please don't book any flights until that point. The decision will be made by late January, 2012. If the numbers are not reached, your deposit will be refunded in full.

If you are interested in coming along but want more information, please don't hesitate to drop me a line at workshops@martinbaileyphotography.com.

If you have friends that you think might also be interested, please do forward this email to them or use the Twitter or Facebook links at the top of the page to share this information withing your social circles.

Clive and I look forward to seeing you in New Zealand for this amazing photography adventure!