antichthones - Tumblr blog

[antichthones]

On last time’s episode!

Shortly after my last post I realised I wasn’t as stuck as I’d thought -- so I combated my malaise by quitting my job and moving to a new city. And with that transition comes a new start. I’ve decided to move to a new Tumblr for my photography. In the next few days I’ll close this place up, maybe maintain it as a sentimental archive.

When I started this Tumblr six years ago now, I was about to move to the Netherlands and experience living on my own for the first time. I was so anxious about who I would become during this move. I didn’t always like who I was, but I learnt from that. Which I guess is what we strive for. I learnt so much during that time --  about myself (the need to live in a large metropolitan city), about others (those who seek comfort, those who are terrified), about the world (how to be less angry about political winds outside my control).

I remember getting to the end of my time in the Netherlands and realising -- with immense relief -- that life went on. That I wasn’t done changing. That I had plenty of time to do so.

I don’t have an end date for my current move. I’m not sure I’ll be back in Auckland, and that is a strange feeling. This time I’m less anxious about who I will be at the end (there is no end!); instead, I find myself fixated on the mundane details -- is it possible to lug a 10kg bag of flour 13 mins down the road? don’t forget to buy candles for the inevitable power outage! (my mother, in her wisdom, asked, why not just buy a torch?).

This seems like a fitting bookend for this Tumblr. I began with a move, I’m ending with one. Once more I find myself coming back to this quote:

“You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place. You’ll not only miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are at this time and place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.”

— Asar Nafizi

To those who have made my time here special, thank you.

201904 - Mountains, Queenstown: Sometimes the light hits just right. The third photo was right next to where I was living.

[antichthones]

January 2019 - Puhinui Reserve, Auckland

I went to upload these photos on Facebook -- as I have my past few ventures outdoors -- and suddenly had the strange compulsion to put them on Tumblr instead.  I’m not certain of my blogging future on Tumblr.  So many of my friends have left the platform in the past few years.  Also, that last purge seems to have erroneously censored some of my landscape photos as not work safe, so -- that gives one confidence in Tumblr’s algorithm.

I’m feeling in a bit of a strange mood today.  Sort of on tilt; a bit restless and unsettled.  Maybe it’s what Raymond Chandler diagnosed as the problem with the heat of summer -- although, comparatively speaking, Auckland’s mid-20s “heat wave” is a cool oasis next to the 45 degree hellscape of Australia.  I’m both in awe at the ability of the tennis players at the Aus Open to compete for hours under such extreme heat, and also incredibly appalled that more politicians aren’t alarmed at this “new normal”.  I was listening to the 99% Invisible archives I think, about how air conditioning has dulled our recognition that our buildings today are largely uninhabitable. We used to design buildings to fit the needs of each unique landscape; now we drop the same glass towers everywhere and hope our aircon doesn’t die on us. 

I’m feeling restless and unsettled.  And I think the most frustrating thing is knowing I have to stick around for another year wallowing with this feeling.  I’ve taken on a big project at work (not why I’m staying).  It’s challenging, interesting work -- blah blah (<-- oof, always a positive sign).  There were many different reasons for why, but the one that feels most appropriate for this post is that I couldn’t bear the thought of having the same routine, the same time frames, the same inane arguments with incompetent arrogant people for another year.  With this project, I get to drop the rest of my caseload.  I’ve been going to Melbourne regularly this past year (which, you’d know already if I’d bothered updating this Tumblr haha).  Each time I do, I end up thinking... why don’t I stay?   

I feel like it would help to find something new to do this year -- whether it’s salsa dancing, cheese making, or dragon boating.  The question is what? Suggestions welcome.  

I’ve been thinking of getting back into uploading my photos online.  There is something calming, at least, about photography.  And I get to check out cool places.  Today’s walk, Puhinui Reserve, is tucked away a short distance from the airport.  You get the interesting contrast of planes flying low over sheep and cows -- you can see one of the planes in the 7th photo down.  Took about two hours at a leisurely pace, and the gravel walkway throughout made this a Pretty Easy walk on the Scale of Unfitness. 

[antichthones]

Waiatarua Wetland Reserve, Auckland 

June 2018

Auckland still looking pretty in winter. This was a few weeks after the really bad storm this year that left half the city without power for a week and uprooted trees -- a friend of mine had this incredible picture of her tiny person standing in front of one of the ginormous oaks in One Tree Hill with its roots up in the air. Would link if the photo was publicly available.  

Anyway. There were patches of inaccessible land due to flooding and so on -- well, maybe inaccessible by foot. I took a lengthy detour near one part where the grass had turned into a swamp, then watched an eight year old on a bike plow through, water and mud and all. This is also a really interesting place for native birds and dogs. On one half, it’s a nature reserve -- no dogs allowed -- but on the other, it’s an off-leash park. Being NZ, the two aren’t well-sign posted at all, let alone sectioned off,  so it’s quite normal to see dogs running around the nature reserve part as well. Good luck birds.

[antichthones]

Titirangi Beach Reserve, Auckland

October 2016

It was a cold and blustery day (see: grey sky). On dreary days, I typically head into the bush as the seaside is never quite fun when it’s cold. I punched in the GPS coordinates for a forest near Waikowhai... and stumbled out of my car at a beach. (”Where are the trees?” I said to my friend, confused.) Not wanting to drive around lost, we shrugged and headed up the beach.

It was fascinating! Perhaps it’s been a while since I’ve properly explored the beach, but I felt like a little kid on a science expedition. Look at that carpet of algae! I was amazed to be able to make out individual strands. There were so many interesting shell formations and bits of sea creatures stuck on rocks too. Much time was spent in jaw-dropped gaping. 

[antichthones]

Mangemangeroa Valley, Auckland

December 2016

And now for something cheerier. The Mangemangeroa Valley was a hidden gem I discovered after artfully googling ‘nice walks in Auckland?’. The signs are a bit confusing and there’s not a lot of shade on a hot day, but for something that is so tranquil and remote, it’s well worth the trip out to Howick (yes, Howick). 

I rate this as a Slightly Slippery with Rough Paths, Bring Decent Shoes on the Scale of Unfitness.

[antichthones]

Arataki, Waitakere Ranges

May 2017

A year ago I took part in the Red Cross Journey, a walking fundraiser to support the work of the Red Cross in NZ. They provide community rebuilding support in the wake of disasters and help refugees to resettle. My first weekend, I took a hike around the Arataki. It’s one of the main entrances to the Waitakere, and is set out like a proper tourist spot -- visitors’ centre and all. 

Now, the Waitakere is closed. Native kauri trees that have been here for hundreds of years are irrevocably dying. Kauri dieback disease has been eating away at the roots of kauri trees, preventing access to nutrients and water and effectively starving these trees. There’s no cure. Once a forest is infected it’s irreversible, and the prime carrier of the disease have been people who fail to disinfect their footwear and gear and stray from the marked tracks. We’ve known for a decade that this was happening and failed to act. When local iwi imposed a rāhui (temporary restriction) over the area to protect the kauri, angry pākehā shot back that they weren’t going to be told what to do by Māori. The Council weren’t much help. Our forests are dying, and this is a loss that will be carried forward for generations to come.

Throughout the year I’ve also had the chance to speak to people working inside the Australian-run Manus and Nauru detention centres. It’s one thing knowing on an intellectual level that Australia’s treatment of refugees is bad -- so bad that the Australian government has made it illegal to report on the human rights abuses going on inside these facilities. But what got to me was seeing young children who had sewn their mouths shut. A friend who used to work for the Aus govt said that at first they felt like they could do something, fight against the govt from the inside and know that they at least were making humane decisions. But when you see your approved cases backlogged, with no progress or chance of relocation for these people to the Australian mainland; when you’re interviewing people who have spent so long in detention that the determination process has caused irrevocable harm to their psychology, you realise staying breeds only complicity. Did you know the Australian government pays to plaster their human rights abuses on billboards in asylum seeking countries? Inhumanity is good for PR purposes.

This shit makes me so mad. I saw through social media that widespread protests were planned in the US today to pour the anger and grief over the administration’s family separation policies into some sort of tangible visual. But a quick flip through the papers over here and there’s no mention of the protests at all. Maybe the NZ Herald is just a bit dodgy. But there’s something about this moment that feels particularly dark.    

[antichthones]

Auckland Botanic Gardens

October 2016

A belated flower post. :) So I went back to check which photos I’d uploaded and which I hadn't, and realised, oh, I haven’t really updated since the South Island trip in 2016 (2016?!). The odd post here and there, but not really -- I made a joke last post that I’d finally ventured outside my house this weekend, and I’m like, shit, what if people actually think I haven’t been outside in six months. So. Still alive. Trying this no guilt thing with my online presence! I’ll probably upload a mix of old and more recent photos over the next... year? random periodic period? 

Anyway. ^ This is what I got up to the weekend after getting back from the South Island trip. As always, my love for strange and unusual looking flowers shows (as well as a fondness for the traditionally pretty, tbh). That was a strange year, still somewhat cool even getting into traditionally summer territory. We still had cherry blossoms blooming mid-October, instead of during the start of spring in September. I’m not sure what’s up with the seasons these recent years. It feels like we’ve had unusually long summers, well into March or April, and then winter was late to start this year. It feels as if the seasons have shifted out by a month or two. -- This is going to be the weirdest thing if it keeps happening. Though, pretty cool if one day we woke to find the northern and southern hemispheres have flipped seasons. 

[antichthones]

Orangihina, Auckland

June 2018

We’ve had a series of rather miserable winter weekends -- torrential rain, bone-chilling cold, poorly insulated housing sort of miserable. Aucklanders are weak creatures not designed to survive anything colder than a freezing 15 degrees. I’ve been spending my past weekends catching up on films I’ve always meant to watch but was never in the right depressing mood for (Mulholland Drive, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Se7en...). 

Anyway. I thought it was about time I ventured again into the outside world. Today’s new place to explore in Auckland was Orangihina in Te Atatu. A part of me just wants to give an ordinary recount of like, ‘walks in the wild’, but to be honest a really strange, somewhat disturbing thing happened, which I will now forever associate with Orangihina.

I had a great walk. It’s a beautiful place! So secluded from the traffic that you forget you’re in a busy city. And with a gravel path, this rated a Surprisingly Easy on the Scale of Unfitness. But -- here we go -- on my way back to the car park, an excited puppy came near to me. He started barking while I stood there like, um, hi dog *awkward wave*. This was fine! This was not the disturbing thing! It was a bit awkward, because I am an awkward animal person. But then the puppy’s owner came up behind it and kicked it away. Proper boot in stomach kick. “He’s more scared of you!” the owner yelled out, as he sauntered off with the dog while I stood there, stunned that a grown man had just kicked a puppy. What’s more, he had his son with him! He kicked the family puppy in front of his five year old son! Who... what.. ?!?!

[antichthones]

Muriwai, Auckland

25 December 2017

Meri Kirihimete friends! ☀ I thought about using the ⛄ symbol, but to be honest, Christmas falls in the summertime in New Zealand so that would just be an odd representation. ;)

I had a low key Christmas day at Muriwai. What makes Muriwai Beach special is that it’s a short walk to the Gannet colony. Apparently, about 1,200 birds show up each year between August and March to take advantage of the lovely weather in NZ while the northern bits of the world freeze their assess off. Even more special, there appeared to be new hatchling chicks! A parent and chick pair ended up really close to me and I got to watch up close as the parent brushed off its chick’s fluffy down.

A common refrain heard around work these past few weeks was, “Going away for the holidays?” No, I’d reply. Are you? No, they’d respond. (And silence.) It got to a point where every conversation seemed a bit predictable and I briefly wondered why we kept bothering. Clearly the people who were going anywhere on a plane had left by now. I think seeing the “classic” Christmas films each year -- Home Alone, Love Actually, Die Hard (yes! I firmly fall on the side of those who count Die Hard as a Christmas film) -- makes those of us in the Southern Hemisphere a bit wistful for winter Christmases. But ever since my time in the Netherlands where I realised oh, it’s just cold and dark, I don’t have that longing anymore! I love Christmas in the summertime! I didn’t realise how much I would miss it until I was away. 

All of my fondest Christmas memories involve ice-cream on the beach; a picnic at the park. Outdoor barbecues and wine under the sun. I love how New Zealand gets at this time of year. Did you know Christmas is my favourite holiday? I like people being nice to each other. But there’s something particularly lovely about this time of year in New Zealand. The pace slows down. Large swaths of the country shut down for two weeks. And the weather is so nice outside that it feels like you’re on a proper holiday. 

Anyway. Hope you’ve had a great year. And if it’s not been so good, for whatever reason, I hope you find comfort and peace through this season and the year beyond. Whether we know each other or not, I’ll always be rooting for you. Take care. 

[antichthones]

Duder Regional Park, Auckland

October 2016

Duder Regional Park: One of those mythical places in Auckland that I’ve often heard much about but never quite knew where it existed. So. One day, with my realisation that the internet is a thing, I finally decided to set out and find the place.

My internet search informed me that Duder was a place of “pastoral farmland with sea views”. Oh, my mind went, grass. Okay. I can swap out my hiking boots and finally just go in some regular sports shoes. Alas, I was not observant enough to remember that recently it had been raining, and rain + grass = a muddy mess. These photos seem bright and cheerful. Do not be mislead! It was one of the most unintentionally painful walks I’ve been on. The first step onto the grass was accompanied with a squelch, soft sinking mud, and the inklings that I might have made a dire miscalculation. Nevertheless, I persisted. Rationalising that perhaps with the sun out and it being such a lovely day, surely the grass would have a chance to dry out. Ha.

It was mainly just wet and slippery, but altogether manageable. About half an hour into this two hour loop walk I gave up trying to stop the mud from seeping into my shoes. I was here already, didn’t have proper shoes, and would just have to put up. Unfortunately, NZ also has this habit of letting farm animals loose in public parks. So after I came face to face with the sheep and cows, my concern over the mud turned into a deeper concern over stepping in fresh dung. You can guess how successful I was at this task. 

There’s a path off the main Duder farm loop that takes you to this narrow slip of land, literally probably just ten metres wide, and you can see the water on both sides. I almost got there. What stood between me and this interesting geographical landmark was a herd of giant cows. I had been failing miserably at avoiding the odd scattered cow leading up to this point, and seeing just the sheer number of cows still ahead of me + the uneven ground + plus the mud, I decided I would have to leave something to explore for next time.

Back on the farm loop, the sea views were gorgeous and I was temporarily forgetting the state of my shoes when I heard this rumbling in the distance. A farmer on a giant tractor appeared out of nowhere. Is she going to run me over?! I thought, as the tractor edged closer to me on the path. There was a steep drop on one side and a steep hill on my other. There was nowhere to go and the path was far too narrow to let both of us pass. The farmer seemed oblivious to my plight. I ended up backtracking, and then scrambling up the hill.  “What a lovely day!” the farmer yelled at me over the sound of her engine. Her tractor plodded on past. 

Almost at the end, the car park in sight, my one last obstacle was right before the cloud of sheep pictured above. A part of the path was entirely destroyed by mud. Deep, uneven. I attempted to go straight through it at first, but ended up getting my shoe stuck. I had this awful moment where I couldn’t go forward and had no clue how I was going to go back. I wondered if I should just step out in my bare feet at this point. I can’t actually remember what happened now. Somehow, I scrambled up the bank. I was incredibly lost off the path, and ended up just setting off in the position of the car park, hoping I’d get there and there wouldn’t be some final boss/cavernous hole right before I reached it. Well, there wasn’t a hole. Just a massive final hill. But with my belief that if you put one foot in front of the other, you’d eventually get to the other side, it wasn’t the worst thing to come upon.

And that ends my first trip to Duder Regional Park. I have meant to go back. But it is hard to convince anyone to come with me some distance off into South East Auckland, and I’m not sure it’s the best idea to go alone. Me verses farm animals did not appear to work out very well for me the last time.

[antichthones]

Gemmayze St, Auckland

August 2017

It was raining something awful. We parked in an industrial area off K Road, a rare spot of free parking in the CBD, and trudged up a steep hill to civilization.

I didn’t want to be here. I hadn’t wanted to leave my house in this storm. But the cagey response from my friend as to whether we were cancelling tonight was all the confirmation we needed to drag our asses out. I feel like I need to socialise, she said. The thunder... yeah not sure where to park but it’ll be quiet. 

We were early. My friend led us down the stairs of St Kevins Arcade to The Wine Cellar, which was deserted at this early hour. We were promptly given sceptical looks by the bartender but he nonetheless poured us a pot of mulled wine. I used to come here all the time in my gigging days, said my friend. This mulled wine isn’t as good as I remember. Our other friend looked around at the broken mismatched furniture, the poster covered walls, the hazy red lighting over the exposed industrial structures. Yeah, I could see you fitting in here, she replied. It was strange being the only ones there. Our voices were far too loud in the emptiness. 

We took our cue to leave as the regulars appeared, and crept upstairs to Gemmayze St. The upstairs of St Kevins Arcade is blocked at one end, covered instead with floor to ceiling windows overlooking a nearby park. The restaurant itself is tiny, so it places its tables and chairs out in the middle of the Arcade. It’s like eating outside, on the street, but with the wind and rain blocked out. 

I’m not sure how to describe this night other than it was rather odd. August is restaurant month in Auckland, so we went out and pretended to be food connoisseurs. Our menu at Gemmayze St: hummus, fatteh aubergine, octopus, moughrabieh lamb shoulder. The octopus was tough and overcooked but the lamb was tender. Bit hard to appreciate either, though, as we were given barely enough for what was apparently a large sharing plate. We ended up stuffing ourselves with flat bread to make up for it.

Afterwards, we stumbled out onto K Road again, where my friend promised us the best masala chai tea in all of Auckland. It was in a dubious looking place. A curtain hid the entrance. After stepping inside and glancing around, I realised we were in a skinny, metre wide space -- an alleyway between two buildings that’s been renovated into a restaurant reminiscent of pop-up Asian street vendors. Woven carpets covered the walls. The seating was made up of uncomfortably low wooden benches. Still, it was late, the light was dim, the heaters were on full blast. We talked about jobs, marriage, Charlottesville, and a semi-frustrating conversation regarding how to respect someone’s gender. I’ve been thinking of the responsibility we have for the people around us. I don’t have the energy to engage with everyone out there. But I’ve been more cognizant of my friends’ views and actions. I don’t want to be blindsided again. I’ve been thinking of the duty to be actively anti-racist rather than passively non-racist. And for me, that starts will giving less of a pass to people who say they love me. 

[antichthones]

Kennedy Park and Takapuna Beach, Auckland

August 2017

I used to think the beach held nothing of interest for me. I can’t swim. I failed abysmally at volleyball. I never quite understood the appeal of lying in the sand, staring at the sun. There’s a part of me that’s felt I was living in the wrong country, and I could never quite relate to the enthusiasm of people who would willingly choose to spend their hard-earned holidays lying on the beach. 

I still don’t get it. This isn’t a post where I’ve found the error of my ways and am repenting. Instead, I think my relationship to the beach is best maintained from a distance -- from the top of a cliff, from the window of a plane -- and I’ve reached a peace with that. The ocean, on the other hand, I’ve always loved. And I’ve felt if the only way I could see the ocean was to march myself over to the beach, then so be it. There’s nothing quite like the infinite blueness on a bright sunny day. 

John F Kennedy Park is a WWII memorial site. There are still gun emplacements, underground tunnels, and disguised barracks you can explore. I don’t know why it’s named after an American president. Off in the distance, like a permanent place marker in Auckland, sits Rangitoto Island. I took a walk around the cliff edge of Kennedy Park and then down to nearby Takapuna Beach. 

There were so many steep staircases along the way. Auckland had been battling awful storms recently, and the main staircase leading directly to the beach was partially destroyed -- you can see the twisted railing in the photo if you look closely. It looked like something out of an Escher print. Parts of the route were cordoned off in yellow caution tape and entire sides of the cliff had slipped and fallen in the storms. I thought of how delicate our environment can be and how easily access to it can all be lost.

[antichthones]

South Island Road Trip 

October 2016

I’ve long held a romanticism for the idea of the road trip holiday. Driving through the country with good friends, keeping to no one’s schedule and detouring when you feel like. It’s the sort of experience that feels like you have to have while you’re young -- which is a silly young person thought; as I get older I find that the desire to have fun adventures never quite dissipates. But still, in this moment, without the obligations of children, a mortgage, and only my mild anxiety regarding the future as company, this felt like the perfect moment to finally have my road trip holiday.

I will remember driving down the state highway between Springs Junction and Arthur’s Pass and marveling at how gorgeous the New Zealand mountains are. When I travel around the world and tell people I’m from NZ, they always remark on the beauty of this country. But it’s hard living in the middle of it all to notice what’s so special about a place on a day-to-day basis. This was one of those times when I really understood what the rest of the world sees in NZ. That effortless natural beauty; scenery that preens with each traveller's admiring gaze.  

Later, we would drive past Hokitika in the late afternoon, sun finally shinning for a sustained period, and I would find it incredibly funny that the theme music for this trip alternated between death metal and Christian pop. I learnt the careful balance of tact required to keep the peace between my friend who listens to death metal and the friends of my other friend who were dedicated to Hillsong. My own contribution to the car’s entertainment was a special episode on gay sex (which one?) from the Two Dope Queens podcast, so you can guess where I fell on that spectrum.

I will remember standing on the side of the road with my friend’s friend, waiting for the others to pick us up. I remember taking a series of Instagram photos for her, while she looked off into the distance and played with her hair. I remember her telling me that she doesn’t have a problem with gay people as people really, she just can’t support their immoral lifestyle. And I remember thinking, what is it about me that makes a near stranger feel comfortable enough to say that? 

Never again will I want to drive through the twisting, unpredictable mountains to Te Anau late at night, with only our car headlights and the overcast moon for guidance. Milford Sound was as beautiful as always, but the rain set in just as we reached Glenorchy and onward to Queenstown. I gained an appreciation for chardonnay and have started switching out my usual sauv order. I learnt I need to be more fit to survive an all day hike, and miraculously I have actually been much more active since. I will remember the ghost chicken, who ran into our car in a cloud of feathers -- me and death metal friend screamed in fright on impact, while the Hillsong enthusiasts slept soundly in the backseat. That chicken was missing when we drove back and death metal friend was optimistic that it limped away (I was far less so). 

New Zealand was strangely devoid of Asian people outside of the tourists in Queenstown, and that’s something I never miss upon return to Auckland. The ability to blend in on the streets; to breathe easy in your anonymity. This road trip made me appreciate the beauty of NZ’s environment, but once again cemented my realisation that I could never live outside of a big, multicultural city. I met an Asian woman in Blenhem at a vineyard who had moved down from Auckland a decade ago for the peace and quiet. You trade in the traffic, she said. To be the only Asian face in the town. She was the only Asian person we met until my friends determinedly headed to a Chinese restaurant for lunch in Christchurch days later. Imagine that. 

[antichthones]

Hello, is this thing still on?

I’ve had a number of realisations since the last time I posted (about 5 months ago). The most important being:

I enjoy photography,

I still want to share what I’m up to.

I had to stop last time because it was feeling like too much work. In life news, I was starting a new job around that time and that took priority. I’ve still been going places, but I found myself without the time to sort through my photos or write about my experiences. And somewhere along the way, it felt like it had turned into an obligation. Like, I had to show up every week with new photos and say something about them.

What I really want is for this place to be a record of my memories. This means impressions that are subjective. Sometimes I’ll have a lot to say, sometimes I won’t. Sometimes the most important thing to me about a location is that I managed to walk the entire track and hadn’t thought I’d be able to. Sometimes it’s finding somewhere beautiful and feeling extraordinarily sad. I’d like these posts to reflect my experiences. This might also mean sociopolitical thoughts that seem disconnected from the scenery -- but isn’t the best time to think when you’re alone and somewhere peaceful?

I thought about deleting this Tumblr and starting again. But there seemed to be too much history. Let’s just draw an imaginary line in this imaginary sand and call this a reset. So, new layout, new header pic, and expect more personal reflections in the future. 

I actually stopped rather abruptly last time, in the middle of my South Island road trip. I’m going to finish that, but redo it in the way I wanted to talk about the trip in the first place: I’ll choose a selection of my favourite images and talk about the things that made an impression on me. It’s been almost a year (oh time!) so the things that I remember have really made an impression on me.

In the absence of updating this Tumblr, I’ve been giving Instagram another go and also actually posting things on Facebook. It’s been an outlet of sorts, but I kind of miss this place. ♥

[antichthones]

20160929 - Hokitika Gorge, Hokitika, New Zealand

This place is beautiful. Easily one of my favourite spots of the trip. We came across many blue water pools in the South Island, but none were as stunning as the Hokitika Gorge. I think the water is so blue because it comes from a glacier. 

This is NZ so you can walk right up to the edge of the rocks without any fencing -- see the large rock right above the bridge in the last pic, that’s the main observation area. A lot of sand flies and you’re pretty much being eaten alive once you get there. But worth it. I even went down to the edge and we’ve already established my inability to balance on things. It was just too beautiful to pass up. 

This was our last stop of the night. We arrived after dark in Franz Josef.  

[antichthones]

20160929 - Lake Kaniere, Hokitika, New Zealand

There are apparently salmon, perch, rainbow and brown trout in the lake that you can fish for. 

[antichthones]

20160929 - Hokitika, New Zealand

On the road to Lake Kaniere and Hokitika Gorge. I look back now and think, damn, we fit a lot into a single day.