As the track weaves besides the river, taking you
on a magical journey through a land locked in time
that only nature can touch, you come to viewing
points overlooking the river and there are a couple of
opportunities to get down to the river edge or even walk
into the river to take some photos looking up the river
from a completely different angle that many won’t see.
There’s so much to photograph and marvel at from the
nikau palm trees to the native flaxes and the walls of
limestone leading you out up the river into an unknown
world not forgetting the wildlife with the native Kereru
munching on the berries. I found an amazing looking
tree to photograph, it sits right beside the river and towers
above all the other trees in an iconic location of this
area.
Sunsets can be very epic on the West Coast but on my
last evening it was raining on and off and I thought about
not going out to shoot at the pancakes as it seemed like
no light was going to shine through and that it would be
a boring dull grey sunset – I’m so glad I went out anyway!
The sunset was perfect with a gap in the cloud allowing
enough light to shine through creating some epic light
rays and a hint of golden sun colours. It was hard to
believe there were only a few other photographers here
witnessing this event but I’m glad to have captured this
and have my personal take on Punakaiki at sunset as
I love storms and sunsets and I’ve been wanting a sunset
shot like this for a long time but actually thought it was
too easy and not my style. As I grow as a photographer
and a person I learn to appreciate the easy and the not
so easy locations, everything is unique and different for its
own different reasons.
Driving from Punakaiki on the Great Coast Ride you get
the sense that you’re in a forest driving beside the coast.
It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road at times because
the impressive view is always evolving into something
new, the coastline changing from charming calm bays
to rugged coastline with large rock outcrops.
This small area has everything you need to survive and
everything you want as a photographer. I assure you that
unique inspiration awaits so pack your bags because this
place will blow you away, whether it’s raining or not!A TIP FOR SEEING THE BLOW HOLES:
- Photography is about planning so if you want the
shot you need to plan to get it. To see the Punakaiki
Pancake rocks blow holes in action the best swells
you need to look for are at high tide though not
when there is a south-westerly swell. Saying this, they
are not always blowing at high tide so luck, patience,
and perseverance are required!
ASTRO PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
- Always shoot in raw, the level of detail, especially in
the shadows, will outweigh anything shot in JPG or
any other format. - To find focus in the pitch black is very hard. Use
the live view and zoom in (on the screen) onto the
brightest star, manual focus and twist the focus ring
until the star is nice and sharp.
F16, 1/5s, ISO