Autumn - a time for reflection perhaps?

Yesterday I took a long walk on a new walkway that follows the Hawea River from Albert Town to Lake Hawea, and I marvelled at the far-sightedness and investment of a Trust that created it from go to whoa, inc. a very substantial swing bridge...


Yesterday was also the day our New Zealand National Govt. unveiled plans to mine in our National Parks. Predetermined plans at that, it seems!

Unlike Lake Wanaka I find Lake Hawea has a real sense of rawness about it. It maybe autumn though, but we're getting a lot of spring [Oct.] like gales at present...


I note that many local Bed and Breakfast operations promote this long walk/ride overseas. So I truly wonder what is going on if our Govt. thinks it can earn more overseas dollars by destroying our landscape, than we'd get from tourism, which is our biggest earner, and has been for sometime...




Today on National Radio this whole mining thing got examined again - I recall the last time was in the last century, and it was discarded out-of-hand. Yet this time it's spooky - it's the predetermined approach of our present Govt. that does this to me. The focus on the National Radio, of course is Great Barrier Island, that jewel in the Hauraki Gulf, and the nearby Coramandel Peninsula area, both close to our largest city Auckland.

But down here in the south we have a larger jewel and maybe the Govt. hope it'll be overlooked if the hullabaloo is centred near Auckland!

Since there is a following on my blog here of people who enjoy a virtual journey, lets examine Stewart Island / Rakiura, coastline and landscape of our third-largest island of New Zealand.

From Oban, the only town on Stewart Island, to get to Port Pegasus, the southern most harbour, is several hours at 8 knots - two thirds of the trip being in the true Southern Ocean...


This is the shoreline on this long and exposed leg...


There are hazards like Black Rock accentuated by wickedly strong currents, right where the naive would sail, ...


The entrance to Pegasus - a tricky harbour to enter due to severe currents, but once inside there is enough to keep adventurer sailors like Arthur here, and his mates [myself, son and others] busy for a month...


But wait... there has been mining here too. The Tin Range, for example, is not called "The Tin Range" for nothing, but back then the technology was quaint, so there is not much left behind...


And maybe real pirates did use this "Pirates Cove". But today's pirates, if they come, will come in more than rubber boats...


Port Pegasus is a beguiling place, full of history [like Fiordland it was populated early and then abandoned], and is rather ominously a good harbour too...


Ashore it is a wild windswept place of great beauty - essentially wilderness that contains low scrub [wind affected/stunted] and low mountains like Gog and Magog...


On Magog we can see the even wilder west coast - a glimpse to the right...


My son Dougal on Magog, and over his right shoulder.. that is Gog...


Dougal surveys northern Port Pegasus from Magog...


Gog and Magog from Bald Cone which is further south again. Check out the ice sculptured landforms....


And even further south [sth. west actually], there are even more isolated mountains and valleys evident in this amazing wilderness...


Bald Cone...


So this is our jewel of the south - Stewart Island / Rakiura...


Further north in Paterson Inlet there is Ulva Island. An outstanding success in terms of a bird sanctuary. So much-so that thousands visit it by water taxi every "season" [tourism], and many far-sighted visionaries are mooting the whole of Stewart Island / Rakiura be turned into a predator free zone bird sanctuary. I believe this is a possible and an absolutely stunning goal. Sadly though it could be that those who would desecrate that which is a spiritual landscape, will be the predators!

Ulva Island weka...


Govt. eyes up estimated 7 billion

So dear local readers and overseas lovers of NZ, what do you think about mining our National Parks?

The start of summer trips

Hopes of getting away for an overnight tramp with my son did not eventuate in the last week. Maybe it was just as well too, as on one 3/4 day trip we experienced very windy conditions at the relatively low altitude of nearby Lake Hawea, where we did quite a bit of exploring.

The spectacular private road to Dingleburn Station...


I'm not sure when this road got built, but it was relatively recently and Ian S. the station owner apparently became a bit of legend in the doing of it. In his later years my dad and uncle spent a lot of time with Sarge over on the Coast, after my mum and aunt passed away within 3 months of each other back in the seventies...


I'm quite a fan of making photographs of our native Cabbage trees. This one has been through a fire though...


Dougal admires the view...


I had no idea Mt Aspiring could be seen from this area...


I've never seen a quail hang out in/on bracken fern before either...


Over the weekend one of my close friends Ian flew down from Wellington for a overnighter with me in my camper truck. I met him in Queenstown and we visited a few mutual friends then adjourned to nearby Moke Lake, and did a moderate walk in this area reeking in gold mining history.

Towards Moonlight and Ben Lomond Station...


Looking back towards Moke Lake

And lastly dawn this morning - a smaller lake nearby...


This week's site, The Green Children's Blog. A lot to look through, but inspiring.. more>>

A busy week and a birthday party

Not much spare time this week to make any new photos, but it's sure been nice to feel the onset of spring.

Wanaka Station Park is one of my favourite places to visit over the next several weeks. There has been an ongoing planting programme of rhododendrons and the likes over the last few years, and although it's nowhere near the equal of the Dunedin Public Gardens, the setting is magical...


This redwood in the center of the Park never fails to elicit a response from myself when I have a camera about...


These little critters will soon be gamboling all about...


Beginning Thurs. and ending 2 am Sat. I did a very demanding Mac server disk rebuild this week [I'm an Apple IT person in my other life] for good friends here who have a large helicopter business. Such jobs on mission critical servers can be hugely stressful, and in this case a bit of an emergency, but near midnight the job was giving signals it'd turn out easier than I imagined in my darker moments [usually any morning I wake briefly at 4 am when the body chemistry must be at a low ebb - any other time I'm blessed with a problem free simple life].

I help these friends in other capacities though: here strop work [apparently I'm good with knots, ropes and angles] to remove a crashed aircraft, and parts, scattered all over a moderate angled slope in the mountains north of here a few years back. Here Simon guides Andy into a safe position for the strop to be placed on the hook, while Graeme hangs out the door giving Andy verbal cues..


On this hook-up [note rope coming towards me to some wing parts] I'd say Andy is watching the tips of his rotors don't connect with the ground!


A slow fly-away of this first load while we observe if the load will behave and not spin, or exhibit flying tendencies of it's own at speed...


Last night I attended the 60th of one of my good friends JT - it was a tough call as I had to forgo a trip to Preservation in Fiordland with another good friend, but at the end of the day the mountains will always be there, and for me people...well we're the more temporary and precious items on the landscape, and besides I'd committed.

JT with Lake Hawea behind...


Preservation Inlet...


Well from thinking I'd not the energy tonight or the material for a good blog, something has been cobbled together dear readers - 2405 visits this year with 3238 page views from you. Thanks, this goes a long ways towards my goal to share how I see my world, and draw attention to the richness of our lives and landscapes. And it all started as a work related experiment to find out just what a blog is about and how it hangs together - now it's a habit I look forward to each week

This week's link to some light hearted truth about so called progress: R. Crumb's "A Short History of America" Thanks Gregor

Firewood, reflections and more on snow

One of my favourite local spots is the NE corner of Lake Hawea, and as I've been burning firewood at an alarming rate this winter it's the preferred spot to not only gather some driftwood, but sample sunset, skip stones on the lake surface and do yet some more iconic New Zealand landscape photography...



Looking across the lake to Kidds Bush...


In between lots of yoga practice this week gone, and having the grief and shock of three deaths that affect me in one way or another, I've kept on keeping on doing ski tours at the Snow Farm late in the day and into the dark, being mindful that it's avalanche season. All good therapy!

You can see the severe loading in the middle to right of this hillside...


And here all slopes have a sort of pregnant pillow look...


I've never seen the head of the Roaring Meg stream here so choked up with snow...

The magic of winter

We've had some stunning days lately as a high pressure system sits over us. Usually when this happens we get an inversion - a low layer of cloud that excludes the sun from shining on our Wanaka town. However for whatever reason we've had the stunning frosts that occur sans inversion, and glorious days of bright and welcome sunshine. That is until today.

However the escape is to drive up one of the ski area roads and since the Snow Farm nordic area opened officially yesterday I [officially] began my 2009 ski season yesterday. My forty third it seems.

What an inversion looks like from above...


Vicky and Eric were there - old buddies from my Mt Cook days. Vicky and I often ski together, so it was great to get back into the swing of things...


Vicky at the Bob Lee hut. It's not often we can sit in here and relax as it's exposed and at high enough altitude to catch whatever wind is about...


From the Bob Lee hut, looking towards Lake Wanaka, you look right across the Criffel Range. I've done a lot of wandering down there amongst New Zealand's highest altitude gold workings. It's a fascinating area overlooked by all and sundry...


Late today the inversion was still sitting over Lake Hawea...


This morning driving up to the Snow Farm I was keen to do some landscape photography of a particular shot I had in mind. This one I eventually made is looking across at Mt Cardrona [inc. ski area] and was not quite what I had in mind, but landscape photography is often like that...


This weeks recommended blog is by my good friend Geoff - on Sat. he was across the valley from the Snow Farm ski touring behind Cardrona Ski Area, and he made some nice photographs >>

The Clutha River - dam plans threaten the river and plans for a park and trail

Often we take what is on our back door-step for granted and I'm as guilty of this as anyone. One of the major sources of the 338km long Clutha is only several minutes away from my door, and just lately with insidious requests locally from Contact Energy for opinions on 30 yr. old plans to build 4 dams I've been jolted so much my rose tinted spectacles have been shaken off!

The view looking west last Sunday from the Lake Wanaka outlet, where The Clutha begins in our neck-of-the-woods...


I'm also aware the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group is working to create NZ's largest river parkway along the entire 338km long Clutha Mata-Au corridor, including a river-length Clutha River Trail. Given the success of the Central Otago Rail Trail we're already pointing out the benefits that could come from these plans, that would bring thousands of visitors per year to enjoy something that is truly unique and awesome.

The Clutha very quickly develops a distinct character a Km downstream...


Thinking this through along with the recent successful dark avatar protest on twitter and other social networks to draw attention to an ill-conceived NZ Govt legislation with regards to copyright on the web it's occurred to me we don't have to take on this fight alone. With blogs etc. we can draw attention to these outdated plans on an international scale.

And this character has seasonal flavours...


Three of our largest lakes, Wakatipu [the well known alpine resort town of Queenstown is on it's shore], and my [home] Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea spawn this amazing waterway renown for it's water colour, history and scenic route to the sea among other things.

And it's always so dynamic - alive to it's journey to the sea and at peace with it's path so-much-so it flows with astounding speed and purity...


Through an ever changing landscape...


All of this landscape inc. Mt Aspiring in the distance feeds the Clutha...


Along the way it picks up side streams...


It's embarrassing to me as a New Zealander to say that if we need more power that we should first conserve what we have: it must be too cheap, our cost for it, as we all waste it, especially businesses, and how we fail to build and design efficient housing that lies to the sun is nothing short of disgraceful. But wait, there is more: we also let large corporations play with pricing and supply, not to mention our Govt...

I often wonder why we allow power from Fiordland's Lake Manapouri to be sold to the Comalco Aluminum Smelter at Bluff for an undisclosed sum. From this I assume it's sold very cheaply, so why don't we claim back our energy and use it for ourselves? I think we'd make more from it!

We need to get away from the concept of "owning" water and land - we are only the caretakers!

If you wish to pass on your views to Contact Energy this email address was published recently in one of our local newspapers: cluthahydro@contactenergy.co.nz

They also run a forum [pity it's moderated - there is nothing transparent in this as they can choose to not publish opposition!]

And on their site there is a form for email

Lastly while I can't provide heaps of great New Zealand landscape photography of the route the Clutha takes to the sea, I here include a selection of some of the sources. The Shotover complete with troublesome "wilding" larches...


The Wilken and Makarora river valleys...


Matukituki River and Shotover Saddle in Mount Aspiring National Park...


The Matukituki entering Lake Wanaka near Glendhu Bay...


Site head's up for this week: If you'd like to know more of the nature of the Clutha, Pioneer Rafting have a flavoursome web site