David M. Byrne
Well-Known Member
Hello again,
The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It’s synonymous with beauty, rugged beauty; wild coastlines, snow-capped mountains & glaciers are its forte. It also gets its fair share of rain, rain we had to deal with for the first half of this past week, Week 11 of the trip. We hoped to have left it - the rain - behind when we left the North Island at the end of the last entry but it wasn't to be. That said it’s hard for mere rain to dull the sheer beauty of this part of the country; it just makes photographing it a little more of a challenge. By the time we left the West Coast yesterday and headed inland over the Haast Pass to our present location of Wanaka, we had driven the some 400km of the coast, gotten our first view of the South Island’s Southern Alps & walked on a glacier. Here’s my selection of pictures for the week that was, days 71-77 of Mave On The Move.
Picture 65, Day 73 – Buller Gorge Swing bridge, South Island, New Zealand. May 17th 2012.
If coming from the North Island, & before hitting the West Coast, one must drive State Highway 6 which follows the Buller River which, at 169 kilometres, is one of the country’s longest rivers. The river runs through the Buller Gorge, a scenically striking but mostly-inaccessible deep, steep-sided, bush-clad gorge. The scene of strong rapids, earthquakes, floods and home to hundreds of transient workers during gold mining days, the gorge has been a challenge to horsemen, coach drivers, roadmakers & bridge builders for centuries. The bridge seen here, the Buller Gorge Swingbridge, spans 110 metres across some of the treacherous Buller River rapids, making it the longest such bridge in the country. It was here I got this picture of a man slowly making his way across the bridge to White’s Peninsula, an area of historical walks, old gold mining settlements & to the White Creek Faultline, epicentre of a massive 1929 earthquake which was felt nearly all over New Zealand, caused massive devastation in the area & saw land shifts of up to 4.5m. This is one of the very few portrait pictures I have uploaded to RPF. In fact this is only the second, something I have only just realised.
Picture 66, Day 73 – West Coast Scenery, South Island, New Zealand. May 17th 2012.
This is what the West Coast of the South Island is all about. I took this picture on the coast just north of Greymouth, the largest town on the West Coast and our base for night 73 of the trip. It was captured late in the afternoon (4:30pm) having driven through rain most of the day. Incidentally, it wasn't raining that morning in Buller Gorge - admittedly that's inland but still not too far from the coast - but by the time we found ourselves skirting the coat later that afternoon it was. Anyway, I was hoping for a break in the rain & a lifting of the low-lying mist & clouds for only a minute or two to let me get a shot of this typical West Coast scenery; my camera was resting on the centre console of our camper van waiting for the moment when I'd pull over and jump out! Thankfully I got what I was looking for. While it may not be plainly obvious in this picture, the sun illuminating the mist offshore (top-left of frame) created some beautiful, albeit overpowering lighting that added a real special feel to the scene. I also like how the people on the beach (bottom-right) add an impressive sense of scale to the image (assuming you can spot them of course).
Picture 67, Day 74 – The Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. May 18th 2012.
We got our first view of the Southern Alps, the mountain range that extends along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, on day 74 of the trip (& such is their presence that we expect to be seeing them for much of the rest of our time here in New Zealand). I took this picture by the shores of Lake Mapourika, 15 kilometres north of Franz Joesph Glacier. We overnighted in a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite adjacent to the lake & as the light was dying on this day the calm lake mirroring the surrounding scenery was very photo-worthy.
Picture 68, Day 75 – Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand. May 19th 2012.
You want ice, you got ice. One of the ‘must-do’ South Island activities is a guided glacier walk, something that kept us busy - & cold - on day 75 of the trip. The twin glaciers of Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Franz Joseph Glacier & Fox Glacier, are unique in that nowhere else in the world at this latitude do glaciers come so close to the ocean. The development of the glaciers, which are geographically 23km apart, is largely due to the West Coast’s endless rain; snow falling in the glaciers’ broad accumulation zones high in the Southern Alps fuses into clear ice before surging down the valley. We lucked out (or maybe we were just due a break) because the day we did our glacier walk was one of the most glorious days of the trip so far & a much welcomed respite from the recent, incessant rain. As you might imagine I took a lot of pictures on this day but wasn't happy with many of them, especially the wide-angle ones - the glacier rested in a shadowed valley surrounded by a bright, snow-capped peaks & blue sky which meant I was battling with dark vs. bright exposure issues all day. I took this picture towards the end of our glacier walk as we were descending the glacier to the valley floor in the far distance, somewhere the glacier would have rested in years gone by (the glacier is, and has been for years, retreating up the valley). It was late in the afternoon and again the light from the setting sun, sheltered by the wall of the valley, made for a wonderful scene.
Picture 69, Day 76 – Lake Haweh, South Island, New Zealand. May 20th 2012.
The weather has held out the last few days and yesterday, on the drive from the West Coast over the Haast Pass to Wanaka, I captured this image of sheep grazing in the fields overlooking Lake Hawea with the snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps in the distance. I had my CPL mounted on my wide-angle lens for this shot, the first time I have used it in New Zealand (I bought it before setting out on this trip with pictures like this of South Island landscapes specifically in mind). I didn't like the results; the CPL over-saturated the scene for my liking with this picture probably the least over-saturated of the 20 or so images I snapped of the scene before me.
Picture 70, Day 77 – Lake Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand. May 21st 2012.
I’ll say it here and now; there are very few places on earth as beautiful as Wanaka, a charming lakeside town, surrounded by mountains and situated at the southern end of the lake of the same name. Having been here before (back in 2003) I was aware of its beauty and I’m glad to report not much has changed. I took this picture of ducks (I seem to have an affinity with New Zealand’s ducks) on the clam waters of the lake early in the morning of day 77 of the trip, when the early morning mist was still low on the lake. It was a very peaceful scene, one conveyed to me everything I see this picture.
What’s Next?
Well, we’re going to find it hard to leave Wanaka, that’s for sure. But we will. Eventually. Next port of call is Queenstown, a short drive from here & the adventure & adrenalin capital of the country (& maybe the world). We’re hoping the weather stays as nice as it has been of late. It should; the Southern Alps we were introduced to this week does a good job of sheltering the land to the east of its peaks. We’re coming to the realisation that our time in New Zealand is also drawing to a close; 13 days we have left in the country… or conveniently 2 RPF Mave On The Move entries!
I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. It's heavy on scenery & landscapes but that's here is all about. Don’t forget you can keep up to date with my present whereabouts by visiting the dedicated travel page of my photography blog.
Until next time.
David M
The West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It’s synonymous with beauty, rugged beauty; wild coastlines, snow-capped mountains & glaciers are its forte. It also gets its fair share of rain, rain we had to deal with for the first half of this past week, Week 11 of the trip. We hoped to have left it - the rain - behind when we left the North Island at the end of the last entry but it wasn't to be. That said it’s hard for mere rain to dull the sheer beauty of this part of the country; it just makes photographing it a little more of a challenge. By the time we left the West Coast yesterday and headed inland over the Haast Pass to our present location of Wanaka, we had driven the some 400km of the coast, gotten our first view of the South Island’s Southern Alps & walked on a glacier. Here’s my selection of pictures for the week that was, days 71-77 of Mave On The Move.
Picture 65, Day 73 – Buller Gorge Swing bridge, South Island, New Zealand. May 17th 2012.
If coming from the North Island, & before hitting the West Coast, one must drive State Highway 6 which follows the Buller River which, at 169 kilometres, is one of the country’s longest rivers. The river runs through the Buller Gorge, a scenically striking but mostly-inaccessible deep, steep-sided, bush-clad gorge. The scene of strong rapids, earthquakes, floods and home to hundreds of transient workers during gold mining days, the gorge has been a challenge to horsemen, coach drivers, roadmakers & bridge builders for centuries. The bridge seen here, the Buller Gorge Swingbridge, spans 110 metres across some of the treacherous Buller River rapids, making it the longest such bridge in the country. It was here I got this picture of a man slowly making his way across the bridge to White’s Peninsula, an area of historical walks, old gold mining settlements & to the White Creek Faultline, epicentre of a massive 1929 earthquake which was felt nearly all over New Zealand, caused massive devastation in the area & saw land shifts of up to 4.5m. This is one of the very few portrait pictures I have uploaded to RPF. In fact this is only the second, something I have only just realised.
Picture 66, Day 73 – West Coast Scenery, South Island, New Zealand. May 17th 2012.
This is what the West Coast of the South Island is all about. I took this picture on the coast just north of Greymouth, the largest town on the West Coast and our base for night 73 of the trip. It was captured late in the afternoon (4:30pm) having driven through rain most of the day. Incidentally, it wasn't raining that morning in Buller Gorge - admittedly that's inland but still not too far from the coast - but by the time we found ourselves skirting the coat later that afternoon it was. Anyway, I was hoping for a break in the rain & a lifting of the low-lying mist & clouds for only a minute or two to let me get a shot of this typical West Coast scenery; my camera was resting on the centre console of our camper van waiting for the moment when I'd pull over and jump out! Thankfully I got what I was looking for. While it may not be plainly obvious in this picture, the sun illuminating the mist offshore (top-left of frame) created some beautiful, albeit overpowering lighting that added a real special feel to the scene. I also like how the people on the beach (bottom-right) add an impressive sense of scale to the image (assuming you can spot them of course).
Picture 67, Day 74 – The Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand. May 18th 2012.
We got our first view of the Southern Alps, the mountain range that extends along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, on day 74 of the trip (& such is their presence that we expect to be seeing them for much of the rest of our time here in New Zealand). I took this picture by the shores of Lake Mapourika, 15 kilometres north of Franz Joesph Glacier. We overnighted in a DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite adjacent to the lake & as the light was dying on this day the calm lake mirroring the surrounding scenery was very photo-worthy.
Picture 68, Day 75 – Fox Glacier, South Island, New Zealand. May 19th 2012.
You want ice, you got ice. One of the ‘must-do’ South Island activities is a guided glacier walk, something that kept us busy - & cold - on day 75 of the trip. The twin glaciers of Westland Tai Poutini National Park, Franz Joseph Glacier & Fox Glacier, are unique in that nowhere else in the world at this latitude do glaciers come so close to the ocean. The development of the glaciers, which are geographically 23km apart, is largely due to the West Coast’s endless rain; snow falling in the glaciers’ broad accumulation zones high in the Southern Alps fuses into clear ice before surging down the valley. We lucked out (or maybe we were just due a break) because the day we did our glacier walk was one of the most glorious days of the trip so far & a much welcomed respite from the recent, incessant rain. As you might imagine I took a lot of pictures on this day but wasn't happy with many of them, especially the wide-angle ones - the glacier rested in a shadowed valley surrounded by a bright, snow-capped peaks & blue sky which meant I was battling with dark vs. bright exposure issues all day. I took this picture towards the end of our glacier walk as we were descending the glacier to the valley floor in the far distance, somewhere the glacier would have rested in years gone by (the glacier is, and has been for years, retreating up the valley). It was late in the afternoon and again the light from the setting sun, sheltered by the wall of the valley, made for a wonderful scene.
Picture 69, Day 76 – Lake Haweh, South Island, New Zealand. May 20th 2012.
The weather has held out the last few days and yesterday, on the drive from the West Coast over the Haast Pass to Wanaka, I captured this image of sheep grazing in the fields overlooking Lake Hawea with the snow-capped peaks of the Southern Alps in the distance. I had my CPL mounted on my wide-angle lens for this shot, the first time I have used it in New Zealand (I bought it before setting out on this trip with pictures like this of South Island landscapes specifically in mind). I didn't like the results; the CPL over-saturated the scene for my liking with this picture probably the least over-saturated of the 20 or so images I snapped of the scene before me.
Picture 70, Day 77 – Lake Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand. May 21st 2012.
I’ll say it here and now; there are very few places on earth as beautiful as Wanaka, a charming lakeside town, surrounded by mountains and situated at the southern end of the lake of the same name. Having been here before (back in 2003) I was aware of its beauty and I’m glad to report not much has changed. I took this picture of ducks (I seem to have an affinity with New Zealand’s ducks) on the clam waters of the lake early in the morning of day 77 of the trip, when the early morning mist was still low on the lake. It was a very peaceful scene, one conveyed to me everything I see this picture.
What’s Next?
Well, we’re going to find it hard to leave Wanaka, that’s for sure. But we will. Eventually. Next port of call is Queenstown, a short drive from here & the adventure & adrenalin capital of the country (& maybe the world). We’re hoping the weather stays as nice as it has been of late. It should; the Southern Alps we were introduced to this week does a good job of sheltering the land to the east of its peaks. We’re coming to the realisation that our time in New Zealand is also drawing to a close; 13 days we have left in the country… or conveniently 2 RPF Mave On The Move entries!
I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. It's heavy on scenery & landscapes but that's here is all about. Don’t forget you can keep up to date with my present whereabouts by visiting the dedicated travel page of my photography blog.
Until next time.
David M
