NZ Photo Tour : Day 02 - Twizel To Mount Cook : There And Back Again Part 2

 Assalamualaikum wbt.

Sept 2nd, 2013


Twizel is a town in the Mackenzie District, in New Zealand's South Island. It is a small town, with residential population of 1,110 but in summer the population more than triples. The present town was built in 1968 as a greenfields project to service the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectricity Scheme. The scheme consisted of 50 km of canals, two dams, and four powerhouses producing 848 MW of electricity.





By 4pm, we finished dumping the black & grey water at the town's public dump site. The fresh water tank and diesel were topped up and we head back to Mount Cook to chase the sunset. It's a 60km++ journey and our worry was that we could not make it in time.

This time Jemang was driving, so I took the opportunity to take some more drive-by pictures.

Taking Pics "On The Fly"
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/100s | ISO200 | 28mm | Lee GND .09s | handheld

Setting Sun
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/500s | ISO180 | 70mm | handheld

Smoky Mountain
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/500s | ISO500 | 70mm | handheld

Another Smoky Mountain
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/500s | ISO500 | 70mm | handheld

Slippery When Frosty
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/500s | ISO1250 | 70mm | handheld

Long And Winding Road
Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/500s | ISO900 | 112mm | handheld

When we realised that we would not reach our destination in time for sunset, we started looking for alternatives. Then I remembered a place we passed by during our first trip up called "Peter's Lookout". So we decided to stop there for the sunset. And luckily we managed to reached there in time - barely!




Peter's Lookout is a well paved parking area, overlooking Lake Pukaki on State Highway 80. From here you can get a clear view of Aoraki / Mount Cook. It's approximately 20km from Twizel or 42km from Mount Cook Village. 

New Zealand is such a beautiful country that no matter where you stop, you'll get a good view. Peter's Lookout was no exception. Although this was not in our list, it was as good as any other place. And I was glad we did stop here :)

For a start, I took some images of road winding down towards Aoraki with the 70-300mm tele lenses, to compress the perspective and emphasize the size of Aoraki  :

"Road To Aoraki Series"

Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/40s | ISO400 | 70mm

Nikon D600 | f/8 | 1/80s | ISO400 | 180mm

Nikon D600 | f/11 | 1/20s | ISO400 | 180mm

Nikon D600 | f/11 | 1/20s | ISO400 | 80mm

 Then I stowed the tele and switched to 17-35mm ultra-wide lens for some low-down angle :

The Stump | Nikon D600 | f/13 | 5s | ISO200 | 17mm

Shrubbery Bush | Nikon D600 | f/13 | 3s | ISO400 | 35mm

 After taking these shots, I noticed a faint trail going down the hill towards the lake shore, about 500 meters away. Then I saw two specks at the shore and I realised it was Danial and Jemang! Without further ado, I immediately followed suit.

The lakeshore was pebbled. There was no sand nor big boulders. And the water was very calm, making for smooth reflection. Would love to camp here and shoot milky way and startrails. (Hint! Hint! :D )

It was also practically deserted. No human apart from us three. No animal either. Well, not that I could see, but it was very silent, if you get what I mean. And no mosquitoes / sandflies too! Thank God for that :)

The first thing I came across was this driftwood :

Driftwood Part 1 | D600 | f/9 | 4s | ISO200 | 17mm

Driftwood Part 2 | D600 | f/9 | 10s | ISO100 | 17mm

Then I came across these stones, neatly stacked. No idea who did these. Jemang and Danial said it was already there when they came down. Well, whoever you are, thank you! It made for a very interesting subject :)

Stone Stacks At Lake Pukaki | D600 | f/9 | 25s | ISO100 | 17mm

The water surface was mirror-smooth. Imagine a milky way / startrails reflection shots here!

Beacon Of Light | D600 | f/7.1 | 15s | ISO100 | 17mm

 Last shot of the day :

Last Light | D600 | f/7.1 | 15s | ISO200 | 17mm

After the last shot it was getting quite dark so we  begin the trek back to the campervan. Going downhill was easy. The light was still strong and I could pickup the trail quite easily. Going up was another story - it was dark, only one person had a torchlight. And it was uphill, mind you! So we just sort of stumble around, using the silhouette of the campervan as our beacon. But we preserved and we managed. As they say, all's well ends well. Well, not quite :(

We reached the campervan, huffing and puffing (being a heavy smoker that I was), quite out of breath. Only then I realised I had lost my Z-Pro filter holder. Somehow, it came off somewhere during our trek up, leaving only the adapter ring attached to the lens. What can I say? It's too dark to go back, and I could not remember the exact path anyway. So I just "grin and bear" it. Ouch!

So we packed up our gears, stowed the tripods and continue our journey to Mount Cook.

Until next post,
Wassalam 


 << Day 02 - Twizel To Mount Cook : There And Back Again Part 1


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 HDR/DRI/Timelapse personal / group workshop is available upon request. PM me for details :) 

- all rights reserved - do not use without permission -

- contact me at enquire.ariefrasa@gmail.com for information on licensing of my images and timelapse clips -  

NZ Photo Tour : Day 02 - Twizel To Mount Cook : There And Back Again Part 1

Assalamualaikum wbt.

Sept 2nd, 2013

Our very first night in night New Zealand was spent on the road. We drove well into the night, finally stopping at roadside somewhere between at Tekapo-Twizel Rd. Our campervan's gas heater didn't function, and without external power source, the electric heater was useless too. At first we thought of letting the engine run so we can have some heat from the front heater. However, seeing that we were already low in fuel, we quickly banished the thought.

We woke up cold and shivering. The first touch of my stockinged feet to the icy-cold floor brought out a quick yelp. Everything was covered in thin frost. Heavy layer of warm clothing (plus thick blanket) helped a bit, but trust me, it's no joke sleeping in the campervan without heater! If you are going to NZ in winter (or early spring, like we did), make sure the heater's works!

NB : I reviewed the behind-the-scene videos by Fakrul. There is one clip that shows Rosie telling us NOT to twist the heater dial all the way to the left. Perhaps somebody did, and that may explain why the heater worked at the depot but not after. Perhaps. I don't know. Anyway, that's in the past. Long gone and dusted :D

But that did not dampen our adventurous spirit, apparently. And the engine started at the first twist of the key. After the morning rituals and breakfast, we were ready to go.

Next destination : Mount Cook Village, approximately 60km away.

After about 10 minutes, we came across an intersection. Turn right to Mount Cook, or continue straight to go to Twizel.

when we forgot to take pictures, Google Street View comes to the rescue! LoL

We decided to make a right turn to press ahead to Mount Cook, and fill up the diesel tank at Mount Cook Village. Surely there's a station there, right? Only later, we learned that this was a mistake. One that would costs us valuable time (and diesel too).

Anyway, we drove ahead and the view was magnificent! With the Lake Pukaki on the right, slowly the majestic Aoraki started to reveal itself. Well, I'll just let the picture do the talking. I was lucky it was not my turn driving :)

Of course, an unscheduled road-stop was mandatory! Here's some images shot during the stop :)

cool Born Amin with Aoraki

fancy a walk, Danial?

perfecting my levitating skill.. :D

Mindful of the time, we did not tarry long. Few quick snaps and we drove again until we reached Glentanner Holiday Park, our campsite for tonight. For NZD20 per person, this place offered a powered campsite, complete with kitchen, rest area, bath, laundromat (self-service, of course) and also wi-fi (NZD5 per day). The reception was very friendly, too. From them we learned that it was cheaper to fuel at Twizel, plus the station at Mount Cook was not attended (i.e. no cash transaction) and only take NZ-issued credit card.

By then we were very anxious about our fuel level so after registering at Glentanner (we were the only campervan there), we hastened back to Twizel to refuel. Unfortunately that's an approximately 100++km return journey, from Glentanner to Twizel to Mount Cook Village.

Looking back at this route, I certainly would do it differently next time (November 2014, anyone?). I would go to Twizel first for refueling before doubling back to Mount Cook. Or maybe we would refuel at Tekapo before going up to Mount Cook. That way we'll save a lot of time and kilometers. But heck, everybody is wiser in hindsight!

Anyway, back to the story. We may lost some time and kilometers, but we certainly gained more pictures! On the way to Twizel, the light started to take a golden hues. It was only 2pm but it was already golden hour! Again we were  presented with lovely views of the lakeside and finally after hearing a lot of "ooh-ing" and "aargh-ing" from the back of the campervan, I could no longer resist..had to find a place to stop for a quick snap!

Lake Pukaki Panorama. I can't recall the exact location, but I'm glad that we did stop here

would love to shoot from down the cliff, someday

Another Panorama of Lake Pukaki. This is one big whopper in original resolution!

After we passed the Tekapo-Twizel junction, the view started to change. Trees lining up the road replaced the lakeview.

We reached Twizel Town at around 3.30pm. Filled up the diesel tank and then visit the dumping station to discharge both grey and black water, and to top-up our fresh water. Previous night one of us had a bit of diarrhea, necessitating a frequent visit to the campervan's toilet. He practically filled up the tank with his *ahem*. Needless to say, the task of dumping and cleaning the tank fell on him! :D

Fuel station at Twizel. Friendly service throughout ...

... and a dump station right next to it. How convenient!

... topping up the water tank ...

...a few quick snaps around...

Inside the campervan after day 2. How would it be after day 8??

All set! Let's get going!

Finally, all grey and black waters were discharged. Fuel and fresh waters were topped-up. And we were raring to go. It's 4pm, and the plan was for sunset shots at Mount Cook Village, about 60km away. Would we reached there in time?

Until my next post, Wassalam :)

<< Day 01 - Tekapo To Twizel : A Night Full Of Stars 

Day 02 - Twizel To Mount Cook : There And Back Again Part 2 >>

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 HDR/DRI/Timelapse personal / group workshop is available upon request. PM me for details :) 

- all rights reserved - do not use without permission -

- contact me at enquire.ariefrasa@gmail.com for information on licensing of my images and timelapse clips -

NZ Photo Tour : Timelapse Compilation

 Assalamualaikum wbt.

My timelapse compilation that I managed to shoot during the NZ Tour :





At this time I was still new into Timelapse Photography. I made the classic mistake I think most novices do - shooting in Av (Aperture Priority) Mode, resulting in flickering in some of the clips. Indeed I had learnt a lot from this tour and I dare say I've come a long way in Timelapse Photography.

That's why I am inviting you to join my Timelapse Workshop this April at Sabah. I will share with you all the tips and tricks that I know about timelapse, not only what to do but more importantly what NOT to do so you could avoid all mistakes that I made :)

Join our Facebook Group for more information about the workshop.

In the meantime, do also enjoy this video of another my timelapse collection, compiled courtesy of Bro Ramdan Nain :)





Till my next post,

Wassalam.



-----------------------------

 HDR/DRI/Timelapse personal / group workshop is available upon request. PM me for details :) 

- all rights reserved - do not use without permission -

- contact me at enquire.ariefrasa@gmail.com for information on licensing of my images and timelapse clips -