Most comprehensive tours of the south island will be loosely based on travelling a loop around the whole or part of the island. Photographers will be going to New Zealand hoping to shoot the many different types of landscapes on offer such as mountains, rainforests, waterfalls, fiords, plains and seascapes. When devising an itinerary I would suggest focussing on there latter to base your visit on. Hitting the coastal locations at the right time with regards to tide is the most crucial element of a photographic tour in my opinion.
Shooting a location such as Motukiekie beach at high tide will severely limit your options as many of the best areas and starfish pools are not accessible or under water. Ideally you would time a visit at sunrise or sunset with the tide running out to low. On the other hand, the nearby Punakaiki or Pancake Rocks are best visited on a high tide where you can catch the spray exploding from a blowhole.
The iconic Moeraki Boulders can be photographed at any tide level however it will greatly affect how your photos will turn out. At high tide there will only be a few boulders accessible while at low tide you can shoot any of them but there will likely be no water around them. My preference is mid tide so I can make long exposures of the water swirling around them.
Tunnel beach a fairly well known location these days near Dunedin is also best visited with the tide out so you can walk out along the impressive sea cliffs and maybe even catch their reflections in the wet sand. Capturing the waves slowly petering out over the beach created some nice patterns too. Even shooting the cliffs themselves as the primary subject works with their colourful faces.
Curio Bay at in the Catlins regions is another spot I prefer to hit at low tide where beds of seaweed are accessible and make good foreground elements. This is also the are where the endangered yellow-eyed penguins can be found. Be aware that the beach may be closed when the penguins are in breeding season.
These are but just a few examples of how working the tides is absolutely crucial if you want to get the best from your New Zealand trip. In my opinion it is the most important consideration when planning an itinerary and helps anchor in certain locations to dates. It’s usually quite simple to fit the other type of landscapes around these once locked in.