The Clutha in autumn colours and a butterfly

It's that time of year again when I'm likely to be seen down the river as the sun peeks over the Grandview mountains over Hawea way. The next few weeks will see lots of dawn river mists, as winter approaches.

The Clutha with the confluence of the Cardrona river on the left, along with a nice new walkway that heads downstream towards Luggate...


Mt Gold and Mt Burke...


The mist makes for interesting effects...


Meanwhile back home I've been having a new experience hosting the swan plant that has been hosting a forth-coming Monarch butterfly - it's all been quite intriguing, but I missed the emerging beauty and for whatever reason Mr. B. only survived for a few hours. Maybe it was just too cold...


A few good links to finish this post:

Client/acquaintance Peter is flying a Tiger Moth around NZ for a holiday... more>>

A moving presentation on the emotion behind invention... more>>

Friend Ken releases his second book on moose in Fiordland... more>>

Blossom blog

A very visual post this week as I've been out there sampling the delights of spring, and making landscape photos with my good friend Roger, and helping out again on the annual Mountain to Mountain multi sport race [ski down Treble Cone and then mt bike, kayak, run, and road bike to Wanaka and Cardrona before finishing with a mt bike up to the Snow Park]. Along the way a theme seems to have been some bird life happy to pose for me too.

From my deck...


Mountain to Mountain competitors line up their kayaks...


Mountain to Mountain competitors set off down the kayaking section on the Matukituki river...


South Island pied Oystercatcher / torea on the Matukituki river...


Wanaka Station Park blossom...


Roger trying out his new camera...


One of many magnificent redwoods at Wanaka Station Park...


Lake Wanaka...


The most photographed tree in Lake Wanaka hosting a bunch of shags - actually the Little Shag / koau, the smallest of New Zealand's cormorants, with a number of different colour forms. This one black body plumage with white feathers on the face and throat...


Mallard ducks [introduced into NZ during the 1860s] feeding nearby...




A local church...


Lastly good reading on a fascinating subject of The Last Megalithic Culture just spotted on Bob McKerrow's blog.

Thanks Bob :)

Low cloud, inversions and frost and things

We've had a week now of inversion cloud sitting low over Wanaka town. It really is warmer up on the ski areas than down at lake level.

However traveling up a little to where the land meets the cloud is well worth the effort from a landscape photography perspective.

By the entrance to the Snow Farm, Cardrona Valley...


The Branch Burn up the Cardrona Valley...




A dead tree on top of the Crown Range pass. It's always intrigued me and I've made photos of it in the past. The monuments mark and record the early history of the use of this expedient high altitude road route from Wanaka to Queenstown...


This week's nice web site: Three days exploring Lake Manapouri, New Zealand, by photographer Bill Hatcher

Happy Easter dear readers!

Last weekend I posted about my son's first formal. I suspect since then Wanaka users of FaceBook have kept the servers busy.

However this little set of photos was on the front of the school's newsletter for the week. That's Dougal in the centre of the group on the left...


My week has been quite eventful: 3 significant yoga practice evenings and I enjoyed the luxury of another reflexology session on Wed. evening. Thurs. evening saw me at the opening of the Wanaka Art Society Easter Exhibition.

I entered a print on canvas that I made in 2007 of a hoar frost in the Cardrona valley. The judge told me I came close to the honours or whatever [that gets you up on the stage for $50 prize], but as I expected my mounting of the image let it down - I should have framed it instead of putting it on a board, as the wrap around edges effectively cropped it too severely. However if it sells in the next few days I'll be delighted...


Lately for bedtime reading I've been becoming inspired yet again by Tom Longstaff's classic [This My Voyage] on mountain exploration in the period late 1800s through to the mid 1900s. I note he was invited to go south by Scott, and I've been pondering how, if he had accepted rather than doing yet another epic exploration in the big big mountains of Asia, how the outcome for Robert Falcon would have probably been quite different, for Tom it seems was the consummate explorer and full of insightful wisdom.

Speaking of wisdom fellow blogging friend Robb is just back from a solo trip, and has posted some great photos and writing yet again. I'm amazed at the number and quality of comments he gets, and this is testament to his skills.

I was meant to be tramping for the Easter break, but sickness in the party precluded this. However as my cousin Michael is camping at Kidds Bush up near the head of nearby Lake Hawea, after a big pre winter spring clean of the house [that neat cloth on my office/lounge ceiling gather's dust something wicked], yesterday I went visiting. This saw me doing yet another ascent of the Sawyer Burn hut track. Solo this time [Michael was away up the Hunter valley that feeds the lake].

I can never resist making an image of this view of Lake Hawea upon breaking clear of the bush...


OK, so I've photographed that scene to death almost, but this time the bush held many surprises - it seems to be a ripper season on the bush edge...






This lovely little fluffy alpine took my eye at my turn around point...


It was sharing it's neighborhood with this colourful little plant. Can you see a calf's face in the white background?...


I've always found this section of high alpine bush quite magical, the way the light filters through...


And lower down I decided to do something I've never done before: really look at that icon of our country, the humble fern, and decide to make a photograph of same, a bit differently to what my preconceived notions have dictated in the past. The fact that every frond in this shot belongs to the same plant may have helped...


Blog of the week, on aid work in Africa, is by my old friend Amy. We used to work together and did some tramping too. It's new and a very thought provoking read! Amy's Adventures in Africa

Pre Christmas tramping and cheerful landscape photography

We've had some pretty wild weather lately and at last this Sunday the sun came out to reveal snow on the mountains. So off Dougal and I went on a fitness trip up Touhys gully in the Cardrona valley. But it became more: a veritable smogesboard of images and light to satisfy my penchant for Wanaka landscape photography. So in the spirit of the season this blog has quite a few images!

Without some unrealistic editing in PhotoShop to place decorations this shot appealed to my sense of Christmas: bright and cheerful...


Looking down valley slightly towards Wanaka's Roys Pk...


Dougal: a great companion as he has lots of patience with me while I stop to take photos of the ever changing landscape I love so much...


The low light was perfect...


Foxgloves enjoying the sun after days of rain and sleet...


I love doing landscape photography in winter conditions, but in this [today = early mid summer] shot, I note you never see these sort of contrasts and cloud shadows in winter...


There was a sense of magic in the air...





So as we head through the stressful pre Santa Claus days I'm mindful that with a break coming up I can chill and let my mind wander... but until then: Merry Xmas all