A fast pitstop and on ...

After a photographically rewarding 2 days we decided to turn to the comfort of the van park at Queenstown. Time to wash clothes, charge batteries, backup to hard drives and replenish our food supplies before heading off to Te Anau the next morning.

With a few easy hours driving behind us we arranged to charter a small Cessna piloted by Shaun. He flew us from Manapouri to Milford and back. More than accommodating, Shaun would tip the wings on request immediately. Sometimes a little too quick, catching us by surprise. Fortunately we were only shooting with only the windows up, not the doors off. We got totally wind blown, Greg more so as he had the rear seat. Shaun had said this was the best seat though I don't necessarily agree ;) After an hour and a half of acrobatics my stomach was more than ready to get back on the ground. I'm so happy I hadn't eaten close to flight otherwise we may have seen it again .... eeeek.

Queenstown and beyond ...

So after enjoying a brief stay in Queenstown, Greg and I decided to head to the end of Lake Wakatipu to visit Kinloch, home of "Ranken Tree" as referred to by some. Those some, have even declared said tree a national shrine. With international photographers traveling to this area and tree it may even be described as a pilgrimage, though that may be thought to very silly ;)

Let me say this much. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Kinloch. We stay in the village, if you can call it that for 2 nights. The very first morning misty display that complimented the remaining autumn colour just perfectly. The water on the lakes end was glassy smooth. It was almost difficult to photograph as the scene was spellbinding. Wandering the foreshore we discovered many little treasures and before we knew we had meandered a few kilometres from our motorhome. Walking back, we met a local personality. He gave us some inside knowledge on a vantage point out of town. We would later travel there in the afternoon and spend a few hours roaming the area.

Totally beat, we rested extremely well. The following morning was in such contrast to the first. No fog or mist only the hum of the local jet boat safari. Somehow I was a little disappointed, as this noise grated against the the peace and quiet. I understand that without tourism this area may be significantly different. For the better, maybe, maybe not.

The second day presented overcast still conditions. We decided to visit a few places we had noted between Glenorchy and Kinloch. They kept us busy for a few hours before we visited the outskirts of Mt Aspiring National Park. If the number of sandflies were proportional to the level of photo opportunities then this place rocked! Traveling to NZ in May, I hadn't counted on these little buggers ... sorry biters ;) They are vicious and have left the signature red bite marks on me more than few times. Not to be discouraged, I regularly lathered myself in Rid insect repentant. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. A gun and run MO was employed. Seeing this location through to sunset my best image was caught on the return walk to our motorhome.

A certain sense of irony crossed my mind. I spent at least 2 hours battling the insects attempting to capture the magnificent scenery only to achieve my goal on my retreat. My spirit buoyant and bitten, yet happy.

To Queenstown and On ...

In the last few days we have crammed in a lot. Since leaving the Lindis area, we travelled to Queenstown, the thriving adventure capital of the world located in the southern end of the Otago district. I love visiting this town it has such a positive energy. This area derives much of its income from outdoor pursuits, hence the people it attracts are largely of that ilk. 

On arrival we plugged our motorhome into our site at the van park only to find it didn't like mains power. For the days before that we had been using DC power on the road. This meant a couple of phone calls to Britz before a visit to their depot. They gave us a loan car to use whilst they attempted to fix it. Greg and went to lunch and return to find Britz had been unsuccessful in their repair attempt but had another motorhome ready for us to move into. A pretty good option. The only thing though, the motorhome was decked out in All Blacks colours! This van is called Ruben Thorne. An absolute disgrace ;) You will see it feature in further photos. The locals see much humour in two Aussie guys making their way around NZ in this van ;)

That evening we where fortunate enough to catch up with Mike Langford & Jackie Ranken for a drink or two. Mike bought the first round and offered me a large beer. Being on the road for several days I accepted. Mike got the pint on the right. I got the bucket on the left and Jackie topped it off with her signature move.

Next morning with a quick restock of our supplies it was time to hit the road and head on to Kinloch. What a great two days  we had out there. A wide variety of subjects that I'll share in the next post. DG

On the road around Lindis ...

So after 4 days on the road with visits to Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook and Lindis Pass we came across the historic ruins of the old Lindis Hotel. To get to the ruins it's a trundle 6km down a dirt trail through some private farming property before arriving at an area that is fenced off and only about 100 meters from the highway albeit across the the river ;)

It was fun exploring the ruins, walking room to room, imaging days gone by. Greg and I meandered around looking for potential shots. Here is an iPad photo that has had a little Snapseeding done to it just to give you a small taste.

With the weather changing from clear blue skies to some cloud, wind and potentially some rain we are at fork in our itinerary and need to decide on whether to pursue our original plan to proceed onto Kinloch, head around to Milford or run for cover toward Dunedin. Only time will tell and my next blog post :)

Long time between drinks ...

Wow ... what an extended blogging hiatus it has been. For a good while I have been saying to myself that I must get back into this but the evidence before you tells the true story ;)

My initial motivation to start blogging again was to those interested who wish to follow my travels around NZ. Tomorrow I leave for 3 weeks with a good friend, Greg Farmer to meander around the South Island in search of landscaping nirvana. No, not the type with pick & shovel variety - the mega vista captured on camera style.

Since kicking around those initial motivations though a few things have happened. :) When I get time, I will expand on them, but to cut to the chase ...

I was recently approached to be the feature artist at the Winmalee Artfest. To say it went well might be a little understated. The 500+ pieces in the show were judged by Paul Brinkman & Robyn Williams, curators from galleries in Katoomba and the Hawkesbury on Friday the 3rd of May 2013.

"Impending" was selected as the overall winning image. The print was quickly bought by a local collector. 

Saturday the 4th of May 2013 was a road trip to Canberra for the NSW/ACT AIPP Awards. This year the judging of the prints took place in Canberra. During the 2 day judging process over 900 images were judged by panels of 5 experts in the various genres.

I submitted 8 images and received 6 silver and 2 silver with distinction awards. This far exceeded my expectations and was a very pleasant surprise.

Last night, (9th of May) at the Arthouse Hotel in Sydney, the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) NSW presented the category winners with certificates & trophies. I took out the Science, Nature & Environment Photographer of the Year award. This is my first category win as an accredited member of the institute. In 2011 I did win the Australian Student Photographer of the Year.

Anyway I need to finish this off and go pack for NZ.

Blog again soon from across the ditch :)