Ruataniwha Holiday Park
Thursday, March 21: Some dewfall at night, sunny with few clouds during the day
GPS Tour
Mt Sefton Panorama
Was up at 7:00 to try to get a longer walk done today. Breakfast was a little complicated by having to use the hiking crockery & cutlery and having to wash and dry it. However, that dealt with and lunch packed away I took off for the mountain and could see it most of the way along the SH 80.
Aoraki Mt Cook, exposure bracket
Brief obstacle was a sheep herd being moved down the road. Managed to drive through them without netting anything for dinner. Couldn’t find the exact site of the first panorama but continued on to the campground where I parked the car. Was still fairly early and made my way to the lake at the end of the Hooker Glacier. Nice shots along the way. Was there in good time and had the chips and some crackers; then started heading back. About halfway back a woman greeted me with, “Do you remember me?” and it was the Stewart Island girl, who was walking the track with some friends, who were leaving tomorrow.
View of various glaciers on the way to Sealy Tarns
Back at the car had lunch with an American couple at a picnic table outside of the amenities. They were on their way to Kea Point, but I wanted to be more adventurous and started up towards the Sealy Tarns, Mueller Hut being a little out of reach at an estimated 3.5 hours. Anyway “up” was the operative word because this was a never-ending, very steep stairway whose verticality was unusually sustained. Where the route proper leaves the track, there is a picnic table with a view – most of the seats were already taken, but all I wanted to do was photograph the panorama. Once as landscapes, once as portraits.
Coming down seemed a little quicker; a woman asked me to photograph her, which I did, and fairly soon I was at the crossroads to Kea Point, and on the level again. Went out to the point – nothing much, except if you don’t like climbing.
| GPS Tour: Mt Cook Village Walks |
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That was about enough walking for a day. Drove back and found a spot for the panorama – a little closer to the mountain than the site chosen in 2009 (both just closer than Dead Horse Creek). Anyway, this time the light will be very different. The Tasman Valley seems to be where Mt Cook can be accessed from; in any case there would be a couple more walks to do from there.
Back at the camp left the camera and the rucksack in the cabin and picked up the BBH guide to try to make a booking in Methven. Which is what I achieved once in town. The Services Club didn’t look that inviting, so I took a stroll around the shopping mall and decided on a Gourmet Tower Beef Burger for $12.9. And what a tower it was.
Again around 700 photos. If they were all brackets, and a bracket takes an average a minute to set up and take, then that would be 100 minutes spent on photography.
Perhaps a couple of days in Methven for some walks. Then we are close to the end, and autumn is pushing her face against the window.
