River of Fog
Finally, a misty Te Mata Peak! I have been taking photos here for many years now, but for some reason I was never able to capture a photo of the Tukituki Valley covered in mist from the top of Te Mata Peak. Until now.
The view from Te Mata Peak usually features the Tukituki River flowing through the valley towards the bay. On the early morning these photos were taken, the morning fog was obscuring the river. In fact, a few minutes before these photos were taken, even the peak wasn't visible, and I thought I had to be satisfied with a moody long exposure of the rolling fog and a shot of Mt. Erin poking its head above the clouds.
Was this all I was going to see?
Mt. Erin above the clouds
Rolling Fog as seen from Te Mata Peak
But luckily, the fog gradually gave way and exposed the mighty Te Mata Peak while the Tukituki river remained covered by this incredible river of fog.
Receding Morning Fog
Morning fog climbing up the Peak
The view from Te Mata Peak usually features the Tukituki river flowing towards the bay. On the day this photo was taken, the morning fog was obscuring the river. In fact, a few minutes before this photo was taken, even the peak wasn't visible.
Gallery
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More visual stories
The Balleny Islands sit at one of the most extraordinary geographic boundaries on Earth — the Antarctic Circle runs directly through the archipelago. On the way south, they were barely visible through cloud. On the return, two weeks later, they gave me everything: fierce light, sculptural icebergs, and a moment of golden revelation I could not have predicted or planned for.
Wild light. Monolithic ice. And an arch worn through the body of an iceberg that remains one of the most astonishing things I have encountered in a lifetime behind a camera.