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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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Glenorchy

12 September 2023

Glenorchy, that mythical place at the end of the line as far as my journey was planned. Its how I like it, quiet, and being at peace with the grandeur of Mt Aspiring national park. As far as images for landscape photographers it all here folks. Fortunately most overseas tourists don’t spend much time here as the magnetic hubris of Queenstown keeps them there circling like moths around the brightest town in the Southern lakes. This is the total opposite to Tekapo which is part of the dark sky reserve. Glenorchy is also very dark at night with the milky way beckoning us to imagine infinity and beyond. Space the final frontier. Well that’s what I said to the hobbit standing beside me.

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The West Coast

12.09.23

“Ride the Highway West Baby……..The West is the Best”

I don’t think Jim Morrison of the Doors had Hokitika in mind but what better lyrics could describe my passion for the West Coast. Just ignore the rest of the lyrics especially the F words and kill words. “This is the End” title is also appropriate as the Haast pass was closed . It was the end . That is when I decided to take the 900km detour backwards to Glenorchy. See “Worth the Detour”. No I didn’t have the car in reverse.

1. Lake Ianthe
2. Gillespies Beach
3. Franz Josef Glacier
4. Fox Glacier
5. Fox Glacier

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Rangitata Gorge

After Glenorchy my next destination was to stay in Geraldine. Normally I would travel on highway 8 via the Lindis Pass which is the way I came to Glenorchy -see “Worth a Detour?”. But there was a danger the Pass would be closed due to heavy snow. So I decided to go on highway 85 between Ranfurly and Palmerston. This is know as the “pig route”. Apparently Google says it’s called that, not because of transportation of certain live stock but the route was a “Pig of a route” to travel on in the old days. It must have been very rough. Some of my B&W landscapes were along the Pig route. What was amazing was how clean the road was even though there was lots of snow on the sides. I enquired about this with my guide and he said in the middle of the night the roads are swept to remove the snow routinely. Unsung heroes I say. Reminds me of the movie with Liam Neeson called “Cold Pursuit”. Anyway I safely got to Geraldine which is one of my favorite towns in NZ. The next day my guide Wayne Keenan picked me up for my third visit exploring the Rangitata Gorge. Towards the end of the day I was photographing the deer in the fields looking for the most attractive one and the local farmer stopped by to enquire who this voyeur was. I meekly replied “I was looking for Bambi”…. Only kidding. Jamie was just finishing his work on the field I was photographing and he stopped for a chat. It was great for Wayne as he travels this road a lot and its good to know the locals, especially when you get stuck in the mud or snow! Anyway Jamie really looked like the “Southern Man” of the Speights adverts. Dressed to kill and a vehicle that actually looks like it fulfills its design brief. Not like a large SUV in the suburbs that rarely gets any mud on it. So I asked him to pose for me for some environmental portraits. I was in my element as well, travel photography featuring the locals, but this time it was Rangitata not Myanmar.

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3. Jamie Lamb Deer Farmer
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