Thank you for the welcome! Yes it is an amazing place, the stars are amazing. All of the countries shown in this thread have amazing features that are so unique.
Thank you, this forum looks like a great community!
Yes the high country in the South Island has some very unique scenery (think Lord of the Rings!)
Hehe the sheep are around, you just have to know where to look!!! The land is fairly dry, but people are still able to graze sheep there, just not in the quantities closer to the coast.
But, there are thousands of rabbits, and these are the local pests.
It is also amazing to see the Aurora Australis, the equivalent of the Northern Lights - very uncommon to see at such distances from Antartica.
For some more information regrading Tekapo and it's night sky, http://www.earthandsky.co.nz/docs/starlight_brochure.pdf
Thanks all for the warm welcome, and I look froward to seeing some more unique places!