11.14
My parents were here recently. I hadn’t seen them for 2 years so for their effort in travelling all the way from London I treated them to a trip to New Zealand, a place they’d always wanted to visit. As I hadn’t been to the North Island yet I thought that would make a nice little adventure for all of us, and after a brief poll of the Kiwis in the office (and a web search for good photo locations!) I decided to head to Lake Taupo.
Lake Taupo derives its name from a Maori phrase meaning “the great cloak of Tia”, a fitting description for the largest lake in New Zealand (it’s the size of Singapore!) and a major destination for trout fishermen everywhere.
Our accommodation would be the Clarion Sacred Waters, a set of luxury apartments right on the lake shore with panoramic views from your private hot tub on the outdoor deck. Imagine how “surprisingly convenient” that location was for checking sunrise/sunset conditions. Great planning eh?!
Unfortunately one thing I couldn’t plan was the weather. Day one was grey and damp but do you know what? In my opinion that actually adds more emotion to the dramatic landscapes of New Zealand than sunshine. Come sunset I could see from the deck that the clouds were looking interesting so a few steps later I was on the shore where I took the intro shot and the one below. Both were long exposures and made use of my Lee soft grad ND filters:
So on to the other highlights of the trip. Huka Falls and Craters Of The Moon were nearby attractions, and about an hours drive away is Tongariro National Park which, during the winter, is New Zealand’s largest commercial ski field. Bet you didn’t know that, did you? However we were there in spring and there was a definite lack of snow, but the gorgeous Chateau Tongariro in the foothills of Mt Ruapehu didn’t look any less majestic. And neither did Tawhai Falls, a delightful hidden waterfall just 20 mins along one of the park’s many trails:
We also spent a day at Rotarua which really is the home of thermal springs. It’s a great place to visit, but to stay there longer they’d need to do something about the smell!
[...] On many photographers “to do” lists is a long exposure of a jetty leading out into the water, and it was certainly high up on mine for quite a while. But a trip to Lake Taupo in NZ finally gave me the opportunity to cross it off. This was taken at sunset after a day of unsettled weather. My west facing position gave me a nice golden glow on the horizon, while my ND grad filters blurred out the water, gave the clouds movement, and saved the sun’s highlights from blowing out. The ghostly blur of the swaying boat adds extra atmosphere. Read more about Lake Taupo Trance. [...]