PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
Built-Up Through the End of the Week
Week 186 of the photographic documentary of my daily life
This week began rather mellow with not much motivation for pictures or energy for short outings in nature but all the while, my excitement built up toward the end of the week when the highlight was approaching.
A big multiple-day hike I had planned months in advance and booked two bunks in a hut high up in the Southern Alps for an adventure I had high expectations of, which I usually try to avoid, and those expectations still had been surpassed.
This picture looks like I hadn't taken a photo all day long and remembered that just after the sun had set, as I can see the back of the mountain still being lit up with the last of the sun’s rays.
So I walked out the door, glanced over the now covered vineyard, clicked a photo and thought “that’ll do”.
After all, this is the backyard view I only have left for a handful of days, so I’d rather enjoy it while I can.
The next day, I think I was looking for opportunities to take pictures for the photography challenge at Full Frame. The topic of ‘tangled up in blue’ led me to taking the picture below even if I didn’t end up using it for the article.
Saturday was an odd day here in Central Otago, New Zealand. It was cloudy, stormy and rained most of the day. Eventually, I gave up waiting for a break in the weather and walked up to my spot on the hill.
In the rain.
Barefoot.
And I only stepped into a handful of spiky thistle leaves.
Sunday was a busy day at work, and it was a hot one, too. When late afternoon came around, and we finished work, we didn’t hesitate to stop on our way home at Lake Dunstan.
The water was chilly but felt so refreshing on our tired muscles and bodies. I noticed berries appearing on the surrounding bushes. Another sign down under is moving into fall.
I think I was having a Skype call with my aunt (she lives in the States) and showed her the current state of the property we stay in when she asked me about the yellow roses I had taken pictures upon our arrival here.
They weren’t in bloom anymore, but I found some other roses showing off their beauty.
We had taken off Tuesday to head into our great hiking adventure one day earlier but on our way home the mountains, we stopped at the small shop in Luaggate we daily drive past but only now, I noticed the cute little library out front.
We parked the car at Fantail Falls and loaded our backpacks while not putting the boots on just yet. The beginning of the trail was a river crossing and while this one shouldn’t be attempted after heavy rains, we had no issues as you can see below. It was more like a gentle flowing trickle.
However, right after the river the trail led into the forest and steep up the mountain. One thousand meters of elevation had to be covered to reach the hut and required us to take many breaks.
However, on one of those breaks, I was bursting with excitement as we saw two keas, endemic and endangered birds in New Zealand, swooping through the forest. I had longed to see one for so long and finally my dream came true.
One of the two birds even sat on a fallen log and posed for me in the woods. While the lighting wasn’t perfect, with lots of sun rays shining through the tree canopy, I was pleased with my result.
Three hours later, we reached the tree line and were rewarded with spectacular views of the Southern Alps.
Exhausted and tired, we settled into our bunk beds in the Brewster Hut and enjoyed a spectacular sunset on the terrace while tiny raindrops fell from the skies.
That night still, I went outside with my camera and tripod, yes all those extra, according to David unnecessary kilos, I carried along to take some pictures of the stars. And while clouds were still covering the skies, I wasn’t disappointed with the results.
The next morning, we headed further up the mountain to get to Brewster Glacier, the highlight of this hike and our experience. It was a difficult and challenging hike without an official trail but was worth every sweat.
As soon as we reached the bottom of the glacier, we took off (most of) our clothes and jumped into the ice-cold river flowing out of the sheet of ice.
Definitely the coldest water I ever swam in, but possibly the most exciting one too.
After resting and exploring much of the surroundings of the glacier, we headed back again while I stopped to take a picture of almost every flower growing between the rocks.
Because I had to.
Back at the hut, we were relaxing on the terrace when a few keas circled above our heads, crying out loud. One of them seemingly had to use the bathroom and sat down on the loo just meters from the hut.
Watching him for minutes unfazed by all the spectators, I managed to get a picture as he opened his wings showing off the spectacular red feathers on the inside of his wings. Another highlight.
That night the skies were clear but I had to be quick as the almost full moon soon lit up the mountains. However, I still managed to capture some night shots and even saw the Milky Way above my head.
I have taken seventeen thousand pictures on this trip and that is only a slight exaggeration and still have to go through them all. I will create separate posts for each day, sharing more details of our adventure.
This has been my weekly photo essay. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since. These are the latest contributors and their essays:
Dennett with “Rain, More Rain, Ducks, and Caterpillars”
Erika with “Regal Mr. Bisou, A Very Pretty Drink, Selecting Paint Colors, “Did I Really Wear One Slipper to the Doctor’s Office?,” Paperwhites, the First Camelia, Bread like A Biscuit, and Uma Tries Caviar”
Susan with “Was That a Cat? That Was a Cat. Wasn’t it? It Was, Wasn’t it? And to Change Things up a Bit — a Tortoise!”
Kim with “Highlights From the 2nd and 3rd Weeks of February”
Krasi Shapkarova with “Debates Again but by the Black Sea”
Penny Grubb with “Some Welcome Sunshine & Looking Forward To A House Guest”
Julia A. Keirns with “Dense Fog and Snow Squalls in Ohio”
These are my previous weekly photo essays:
Join my email list here if you would like to read more photo essays.
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