Last month I agreed to act as driver for some Auckland friends who wanted to bike the Heaphy Track. After dropping them off at the Golden Bay end, I had a long drive in a rented van to Karamea. I broke the journey in Murchison, arriving shortly before dusk which enabled me to get this moody shot of the Buller River, from the bridge at the start of the Upper Buller Gorge:
The next morning I took off before sunrise, aiming to get to Tauranga Bay as the sun came up. It was a glorious morning, with typical wild West Coast scenes.
I was too early for the famous Bay House Cafe, so had a late breakfast in Westport before continuing north.
That evening I had some time to play around with some long exposure shots, at Little Wanganui:
The next morning saw some fairly heavy rain showers. I was scheduled to pick the riders up at Kohaihai, the western end of the Heaphy Track. The local wekas were not at all slowed down by the rain:
Unfortunately, while I was photographing these two, other wekas managed to raid my food bag, making off with rolls and sliced ham. Eventually the riders emerged, on an absolute high after what they described as the best mountain bike ride ever!
