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Worth a Detour ?

This was my last night in Franz Josef. The next day I was planning to go to Queenstown via the Haast Pass. Unfortunately it started to rain that evening, and that was an under statement . In Wellington we do have very heavy rain but that tends to last less than an hour. Here in the West Coast it was pelting down and the sound was as loud as a jet taking off! It didn’t help having an iron roof at the motel. Apart from not being able to sleep I was thinking of flooding blocking the roads and whether I could get to Queenstown. I reassured myself that this is the West Coast and they are use to heavy rain and “she will be right”. The rain was continous all night and all morning. My favourite government website at the time -“Waka Kotahi” gives up to the hour transport conditions. The news was grim. There was flooding at Haast Pass and the road was blocked. There was no indication on how long it would take to open so I assumes it would be all day considering it was still raining heavily.. Honestly I cannot recall being in such heavy continuous rain before.

So what does an impatient photographer do. He just wants to shoot something (very american). He also hates waiting and queuing. Does he keep on driving south to wait near Haast . Does he find a pub in Franz and wait out the rain drinking water all day?

I rang my friend Ricky who I was meant to pick up at Queenstown airport and said he would have to make his own way to Glenochy where I booked 3 nights. Then I decided to make my way to Queenstown the long way around, back through Arthurs pass, down to Tekapo , traverse the Lindis Pass to get to Queenstown . I said I might have to stay a night half way as it was over 800Km!

1. iso 100     70mm   f6.3   1/40sec   Nikon 24-70 f2.8
2.iso 100   24mm   f8     1/15sec
3. iso 100   135mm   f6.3   1/80sec   nikon70-200f4
4. iso 100   150mm   f8.0   1/15sec  
5. iso 100   24mm   f2.8   0.4sec   Nikon 24-70f2.8
6. iso100   24mm     1/3 sec  Nikon 24-70 f2.8
7. iso 100     f5.0   1/4sec   Nikon 70-200 f4
8. Nikon D800   iso 100   98mm   f4   1.6 sec  nikon 70-200f4

The Journey

It was constant rain all the way to Hokitika and through the Arthurs pass. The little Ford Fiesta handled the conditions very well with the Michelin tyres remaining grippy in all the puddles. I met a truck driver at the Arthurs pass toilet stop (I know what you are thinking…) and he said he hadn’t seen this much rain before. The braided river that runs along the pass (Waimakariri) looked more like a lake! The rain stopped on the Canterbury plains. Then I had to contend with a fallen tree on the highway and snow on the Lindis pass. But I made it to Glenorchy around 10 pm that day.

If I had a lesser car I probably would have stayed at Tekapo one night. But the Ford Fiesta is one hot hatch that chews up miles for breakfast. It handles well and has enough power to over take long trucks. It also helps to have only a few cars on the road and many breaks. The photos I managed to get were between Geraldine and Lake Tekapo. Worth the detour ? “Oath !! ”

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South Island Road Trip 2024

4 November 2024

Another South Island New Zealand Road trip. Surprisingly the images are a lot different to my previous road trip. Maybe there were less sheep on this visit. Baaah. And I wasn’t lonely as I has my wife Sally with me. These photos are interesting in that I normally avoid what’s in the current photograph. Its a bit like my wine drinking habits. My favourite and tiring expression is “I don’t normally drink…..(add Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc , Rosie, Sparkling and a few more) but.…….(I bought one for you to try)

Lake Matheson I have only briefly visited pre covid and it was a windy cloudy day. That was the day I took the Fox Glacier photos. I try to avoid the classic image of Lake Matheson that would do a postcard or biscuit tin proud . Those reflections….. here’s a google screenshot. Most people are familiar with these images because that’s how we sell New Zealand.

However my photograph of the Lake would do a You Tuber landscape photographer proud when he or she you goes on about having a foreground in the shot. Actually the walk around the lake was wonderful and well worth it.

8 August2024-Lake Matheson-Nikon D850-iso200-20mm-f16-1/20sec-Nikon20mmf1.8

Speaking of reflections, I don’t normally do reflections but……..

09.08.24-Walk to Lake Ellery-Nikon D850-iso200-35mm-f5.6-1/125sec-Nikon35mmf1.8

The vertical format doesn’t normally work for landscapes, but

There is a power line running across the image. Normally this would make me discard the image for publishing but…….. When I first saw the image it looked rather surreal. That powerline looked like the horizon.

09.08.24-Whitebaiters Hut-Nikon D850-iso200-35mm-f11-1/200sec

I don’t normally do sunsets as they been corny and a cliche. But that jet stream appealed to me. It brought back memories of the Star Trek movie “First Contact” when humans managed to achieve warp one (exceed the speed of light) and managed to attract a Vulcan spaceship that just happened to be passing by this “primitive” planet. It made me watch the movie again on my Laser Disc. I have since ordered the Blu- ray.

“Space the Final Frontier”

13.08.24-Stewart island-Nikon D780-iso6400-20mm-f1.8-0.8sec-Nikon20mmf1.8

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Bird Photography Stewart Island

12.08.24-Nikon D850-iso640-500mm-f6.3-1/500sec-Nikon500PF f5.6-Actual size, from camera distance.
Same settings and distance, heavily cropped. All remaining photos.
iso1000 rest the same

 

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