The snow-sprinkled tops of the mountains in New Zealand’s second largest park, Kahurangi National Park, are reflected in the glasslike surface of the river.

Paine Massif; Torres Del Paine, Chile

The main attraction of Chilean Patagonia, this National Park has lakes, mountains, glaciers and rivers. Paine Massif, a trio of granite peaks, is crowned by 2884m Paine Grande.

Mossy beech trees; Mt Aspiring National Park, New Zealand

A wild walker’s wonderland, the rain-prone southwest flank of the South Island is also an ideal habitat for moss – of which New Zealand has 550 species.

Gaberoun oasis; Idehan Ubari, Libya

In the Sahara’s sand sea lies this oasis of greenery around the intensely salty Gaberoun lake. There’s a Tuareg tribal settlement at the lake.

Elephant in Liwonde National Park, Southern Malawi

Chugach Mountains, Alaska, USA

Lago di Carezza, Italian Dolomites

This spring-fed puddle is famed for its stunning colours. The ‘lake of the rainbow’, fringed by dense fir-tree forest, reflects Latemar – the westernmost mountain of the Dolomites.

Moai; Easter Island, Chile

Seven stone statues, or moai, look out to sea from Aku Akivi, in Rapa Nui National Park. The island society’s fate is a cautionary tale about how not to deplete natural resources.

Thuringian Forest; Thuringia, Germany

The ‘green heart of Germany’, Thuringia is a small, densely forested state, well known for wilderness, winter sports and Germany’s most famous hiking trail, the 169.3km Rennsteig.

Aoraki/Mt Cook; South Island, New Zealand

The vista across Canterbury Plains towards NZ’s Southern Alps is simultaneously a gift and an order to put on some boots and go explore.

An infant longtailed macaque tucks into a piece of fruit in the arms of its mother, within the Ubud Monkey Forest nature reserve and Hindu temple in the village of Padangtegal in Bali.

Tracks wend through Picos de Europa mountains in northern Spain, in the country’s oldest national park, whose wild inhabitants include Cantabrian brown bear and Iberian wolf.

A setting sun over St Margaret’s Bay means the red lamp in Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse will soon begin its life-saving turn. The winking lighthouse is an icon of Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Established in 1981 and covering an area of 400 sq km, Ao Phang-Nga Marine National Park is noted for its classic karst scenery.

Adult and young King penguins, a quarter of a million of them, congregate on Salisbury Plain on South Georgia in the southern Atlantic ocean.

In Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctica, a seal rests on an ice floe, but must beware of local pods of predatory orca that have learned how to sweep them off and into the ocean.

Within the grasp of the Arctic Circle, Lofoten is an archipelago where alpine peaks tower over beaches, bays and traditional villages. The area is famed for adventure sports and surfing.

The Anasazi (ancient Pueblo people) centred their civilisation around Shiprock. The monadnock (free-standing rock) shoots 482.5m from the desert floor in New Mexico, USA.

Close to Gällivare, a remote town 100km inside the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland, reindeer run through snow. In most breeds, males and females have antlers, but lose them at different times.

Geirangerfjord and Seven Sisters waterfall; Sunnmøre, Norway

This spectacular fjord is 15km long. Opposite the Seven Sisters is the tumbling, bumbling ‘Suitor’ waterfall, said to be trying to woo the sisters.

Iguaza Falls straddle the border between Argentina and Brazil. There are up to 300 separate falls as the Iguazu river rushes over the Paraná Plateau.

The Avalon Peninsula bares its fangs here, where rocks, fog and transatlantic shipping lanes have caused carnage. The Cape Race Lighthouse received the Titanic’s distress call.