NZ / 2026
New Zealand, 2026
Seven stops across the South Island
25 April — 02 May 2026
Notes
Eight days on the South Island traced a loose arc from the head of Lake Wakatipu to the Mackenzie Basin. Autumn colour gradually gave way to open tussock, glacier valleys and the clear blue of Tekapo.
01 / Glenorchy
The road reaches the lake
Glenorchy sits where the road runs out at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu. A small cabin below the ridge fixes the scale of the first photographs; the mountains occupy almost everything else.
This is where the journey settles into its pace. The frame stays low and quiet, close to the few signs of habitation at the foot of the range.
02 / Paradise
Beyond the last town
Past Glenorchy, the road narrows and the named places become sparse. At Paradise, still water and a snow-lined horizon fill the view, with the track following the edge of the lake.
The photographs alternate between the broad landscape and smaller interruptions: a bend in the road, a stand of trees, a single cloud resting on the ridge.
03 / Arrowtown
Autumn gives directions
Arrowtown arrives in copper and yellow. Old lanes, low roofs and signposts are half-covered by trees at the end of the season.
The most useful photograph is also the simplest: three street names beneath a canopy of leaves, pointing back towards Queenstown and deeper into town.
04 / Wānaka
A pause by the water
Wānaka is recorded at walking pace. People cross the pale shore beneath yellow trees while the mountains stay soft on the far side of the lake.
A camera and an open laptop on the grass turn one stop into a small working table. The journey continues, but the edit begins here.
05 / Twizel
The landscape enters the room
Near Twizel, a wide window turns the lake and mountains into a framed view. The empty bench below it is the only furniture the photograph needs.
After several days spent looking through windscreens and camera viewfinders, the scene offers a different kind of pause: the road is outside, already waiting.
06 / Aoraki
Following the glacial water
The approach to Aoraki follows braided water into a steep valley. Rock, ice and cloud divide the frame into rough bands, each one carrying a different version of the same cold light.
A vertical photograph lets the river lead from the foreground towards the snow. The mountain remains distant, even after the road has brought it close.
07 / Lake Tekapo
Blue, with room around it
At Tekapo, colour does most of the work. Blue water, pale grass and snow hold their own areas of the frame, while a person on the shore becomes a small dark mark.
The final photographs step back from the lake to include the town and the road out. The route finishes with distance returning to the picture.
Photographs
05 Frames
