05-04-07Weather report... well at 05:30 this morning the sky was clear, the mist was siting on the water and the snow was illuminated on Mt Cook & Mt Tasmin. It was going to be another hot sunny day ;o)
What was I doing up at 05:30 you may ask, well what with the conditions looking almost perfect for this time of year, I couldn't leave without one more try at the Lake Mathieson "mirror" shot. Deb made me a little packed breakfast the night before just in case I went. Up at 05:30 then, dressed in 5 minutes and out the door sometimes it is an advantage being a bloke, no need for hours of preparation before stepping out the door ;o))) Rather oddly Deb didn't want to come with me!
The cottage owners must have thought we were doing a bunk, but I don't think they heard me drive off. A nice steady drive along deserted roads down to Lake Mathieson arriving about 06:10, followed by a fast walk through the moonlit dense sub-tropical rain forest to the "reflection" picture taking point. It was just like being a squaddie again, creeping around trying not to disturb all the wildlife, although it is quite surprising the tricks your mind can make in places like this when your on your own! ;o0 On site and all set up for about 06:30.
Picture the scene, aided by the piccie on the blog entry. A perfect still moonlit night, the mist lifting of a black mirrored lake surface with not a ripple in sight, surrounded by dense dark primeval forest with all sorts of spine tingling noises eminating from the forest and two of the highest snow clad peaks in NZ illuminated by the moon. The whole scene then mirrored in the lake with the sun rising behind the mountains... One of those life defining moments that will stay in you mind forever. Yesterday was Deb's day with the heli flight, this morning made the whole trip for me. All I had to do now was capture it on camera! It's at this point I wish I'd lugged a tripod round with me as I new this shot was going to need perfect stillness to capture. I gave it my best shot anyway...
Too be honest I was surprised to be the only one there, this is one of the most famous views in the world and with the weather conditions looking good the night before I half expected to be queuing up to take this shot. But I wasn't complaining, I had the place to myself for 15 minutes until I heard someone else tramping up the path through the woods, to be joined by a friendly young Aussie couple. They came better prepared with a tripod though, so could afford to take a bit more time over each shot.
Well I fired off quite a few shots, varying camera setting and position to try and give me some choice of picture to work with later on. The shot on the blog is one picked at random and how it came out of the camera, so with a little more tweaking I should be able to improve it a little more. Being critical of myself a tripod would have made a difference as I think I could have got a little more detail in the mountains, although it was a little misty up there.
I would have quite happily stayed there until the lake started rippling, but I had to pack up by 8 to get back to Deb as we had the Tranz Alpine train to catch from Greymouth in the afternoon. On the walk back out to the car park I spotted at least 4/5 sets of other people coming in with cameras and tripods.
Packed up and said our goodbyes at the cottage and set off. We really enjoyed our time here and could have quite happily stayed another night or two. I would highly recommend them, Glacier Cottages just off State Highway 6.
A quick blast down to Greymouth, great scenery again and empty roads as normal! Hokitika looked like a nice little beach resort but we didn't have time to check it out. Checked in at the train station and dropped off the hire car. I'll do a seperate entry for the train journey, worthy of its own...
What was I doing up at 05:30 you may ask, well what with the conditions looking almost perfect for this time of year, I couldn't leave without one more try at the Lake Mathieson "mirror" shot. Deb made me a little packed breakfast the night before just in case I went. Up at 05:30 then, dressed in 5 minutes and out the door sometimes it is an advantage being a bloke, no need for hours of preparation before stepping out the door ;o))) Rather oddly Deb didn't want to come with me!
The cottage owners must have thought we were doing a bunk, but I don't think they heard me drive off. A nice steady drive along deserted roads down to Lake Mathieson arriving about 06:10, followed by a fast walk through the moonlit dense sub-tropical rain forest to the "reflection" picture taking point. It was just like being a squaddie again, creeping around trying not to disturb all the wildlife, although it is quite surprising the tricks your mind can make in places like this when your on your own! ;o0 On site and all set up for about 06:30.
Picture the scene, aided by the piccie on the blog entry. A perfect still moonlit night, the mist lifting of a black mirrored lake surface with not a ripple in sight, surrounded by dense dark primeval forest with all sorts of spine tingling noises eminating from the forest and two of the highest snow clad peaks in NZ illuminated by the moon. The whole scene then mirrored in the lake with the sun rising behind the mountains... One of those life defining moments that will stay in you mind forever. Yesterday was Deb's day with the heli flight, this morning made the whole trip for me. All I had to do now was capture it on camera! It's at this point I wish I'd lugged a tripod round with me as I new this shot was going to need perfect stillness to capture. I gave it my best shot anyway...
Too be honest I was surprised to be the only one there, this is one of the most famous views in the world and with the weather conditions looking good the night before I half expected to be queuing up to take this shot. But I wasn't complaining, I had the place to myself for 15 minutes until I heard someone else tramping up the path through the woods, to be joined by a friendly young Aussie couple. They came better prepared with a tripod though, so could afford to take a bit more time over each shot.
Well I fired off quite a few shots, varying camera setting and position to try and give me some choice of picture to work with later on. The shot on the blog is one picked at random and how it came out of the camera, so with a little more tweaking I should be able to improve it a little more. Being critical of myself a tripod would have made a difference as I think I could have got a little more detail in the mountains, although it was a little misty up there.
I would have quite happily stayed there until the lake started rippling, but I had to pack up by 8 to get back to Deb as we had the Tranz Alpine train to catch from Greymouth in the afternoon. On the walk back out to the car park I spotted at least 4/5 sets of other people coming in with cameras and tripods.
Packed up and said our goodbyes at the cottage and set off. We really enjoyed our time here and could have quite happily stayed another night or two. I would highly recommend them, Glacier Cottages just off State Highway 6.
A quick blast down to Greymouth, great scenery again and empty roads as normal! Hokitika looked like a nice little beach resort but we didn't have time to check it out. Checked in at the train station and dropped off the hire car. I'll do a seperate entry for the train journey, worthy of its own...
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