06.02.10
Posted in General at 10:08 pm by Warren Williams
Some of my regular subscribers may have wondered why I’ve been slow at posting lately.
I’ve been busy building a new website for my new photography website.
I shall keep this going, and have further plans to move this whole blog across to the root directory, of warrenwilliams.co.nz with a new design etc.
In the meantime, please keep checking by my new site,
http://www.williamsphotography.co.nz –

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02.08.10
Posted in Landscape, Nature, People, Travel at 4:52 pm by Warren Williams
My friends and I decided we needed a larger challenge to conquer, than just a small Waitakere bush walk. We’d been talking about re walking the great Tongariro Crossing over the past couple of summers, but only just managed to put into action. Road trip ahead, as we tested Pete’s new wagon. We bunked down in National Park for two nights, whilst spending much of the time trekking over the mountains of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom), and Ruapehu.

Lake Taupo from the southern end

First sight of Tongariro coming from Taupo and Turangi

Bayview Chateau Tongariro (nestled on Mt Ruapehu)

Bayview Chateau Golf Course – New Zealand’s highest course

Road tripping with Mark, who previously ascended Cradle Mountain, Tasmania with me

From one of the stream crossings driving up Mt Ruapehu

Zooming upwards on Mt Ruapehu – North Island’s tallest mountain and volcano, at 2,797 metres
We parked late in the evening at the Bruce carpark, and found the place deserted. Free roam of the mountain! We ventured up around 1km up the rocky slopes, as the temperature quickly dropped.

Strangely, the clouds around us descended beyond our elevation, revealing the glowing sunset across the west. Was quite amazing to witness a sunset with a cloud base lower down.

Amazing light being filtered around Ruapehu

Defining ridge lines on Ruapehu

Various volcanic rocks and high altitude plants


The following morning, we had to wake at the crack of dawn to catch the shuttle to the start of the great Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Witnessing an amazing sunrise across all three mountains certainly made it worthwhile.


Sunrise over Mt Doom

Sunrise from National Park / SH47 intersection

Amazing New Zealand Beauty
Arriving at the Mangatepopo carpark, we were now ready to tackle the 19.4km long mountain crossing.

First steps along the 19.4km long Tongariro CrossingThe intital track starts deceptively easy!


Great view of Mt Ngauruhoe

The final 1km stretch leading to the saddle, connecting Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.
This section was the hardest, with a steep incline, and noticeable difference in breathing

The camera was put away for the next 45min as we climbed the Mangatepopo Saddle
Following the Saddle, we drop again, in the enormous South Crater of Tongariro, before climbing one of the ridges offering great views

Sheer cliffs, along the ridge

Climbing out of the South Crater, with cloud cover blocking one side of the mountainside


360 degree panoramic from the additional Tongariro Summit walk

View looking down to the Emerald Lakes and Red Crater

View down the fun scree slope, with Blue Lake in the backdrop (perfect place to moon jump)

One of the Emerald Lakes, caused from leaching minerals




Tongariro Emerald Lakes

Further views of the Emerald Lakes, with steam rising from the ridge

Low cloud cover at the Ketetahi Hut (well, over 1,400m isn’t exactly low!)


And away with the camera it was, as the rain came down for our last hours walk downhill.

Dusk over Mt Ruapehu and the winding highway
The following morning we made the short walk to to the lovely Lake Rotopounamu – an easy walk, however we were all suffering from fatigue and muscle pains after a full day of walking the previous day.

Lake Rotopounamu

Mark, chilled out
The drive home was non eventful, although we did try our luck at the Hole in One challenge on Lake Taupo. Out of 25 balls, I managed to land 6 very close to the hole on the floating pontoon, 102metres out.
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01.26.10
Posted in Landscape, Nature, People at 12:00 pm by Warren Williams
On the morning of a scheduled evening shoot, I decided to walk down to the beautiful falls of Mokoroa. The recently upgraded track offers a brilliant sight into some rarely touched Waitakere Ranges beauty. Being mid summer, the water flow was a little low, but will increase as winter approaches, and no doubt capture some more shots.

View from down below






Houheria Stream and waterfall

View from lookout

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01.25.10
Posted in Architecture, People at 4:30 pm by Warren Williams

Contrasting light

Rush hour on the busy Queen St/Customs St intersection

Waiting his turn

Making use of colour

In the jungle on Queen St

Sam Steel in action

Stealing a Vespa for a prop



Trapped


180° panoramic from roof of Quest Apartments, Auckland
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01.24.10
Posted in Landscape, Nature at 7:30 pm by Warren Williams
Well as any good kiwi would, I headed off to Maori Bay, loaded with some snapper and chips, to devour along with a great strawberry milkshake from the takeaway in Kumeu. After the great meal on the rocky shore, it was time to take a few snaps of the setting sun, before finally doing a 15 minute exposure after dark.





HDR of Maori Bay

15 minute exposure after dark
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01.18.10
Posted in Landscape, Nature, People at 4:00 pm by Warren Williams
Driving back from Kaikohe to Auckland, we decided to detour slightly to the Whangarei Falls for lunch, followed by an afternoon swim at Uretiti.




Self portrait, within a wave at Uretiti Beach
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01.17.10
Posted in Animals, Nature, People at 7:15 pm by Warren Williams
Standing an impressive 51 metres tall, Tane Mahuta is New Zealand’s largest known Kauri. The trunk girth is even more impressive at 13.77m, with its estimated age being somewhere between 1,200 to 2,500 years old. Tane Mahuta is just one of the many large Kauri’s around the Waipoua forest, north of Dargaville. We made a little road trip with my youngest sister Candace, cousin Nicole, and her new daughter, Kayleigh.

Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest)

Roof structure, amongst the dense NZ vegetation

Kayleigh


Fern frond



Driving back to Kaikohe, I shot a few photos of the family dog and Kayleigh with Nicole





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01.13.10
Posted in Landscape at 9:57 pm by Warren Williams
Settling back into New Zealand life, I decided to venture out to the west coast beach of Piha. The strong westerly breeze brought in some quickly changing conditions, resulting in some dramatic sun beams as the sun was setting over the Piha swell.


High tide over a gloomy Piha



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01.07.10
Posted in Animals, Aviation, Landscape at 12:00 pm by Warren Williams
After spending much of the past two and a half years based in London, I was finally making way to live back in New Zealand. I made an overnight stopover in Melbourne, visiting the house my mum has recently bought, and made great use of the swimming pool! As I was flying Emirates airline, the first ten hours was literally spent flying in a circle. Mumbai to Dubai, and then Dubai to Singapore, and onwards to Melbourne, with the flight path taking us directly over Mumbai some hours later. Alas, more airmiles.

Mountains in United Arab Emirates

Flying over Fujairah, U.A.E

After almost 20 hours travelling, we were flying over South Australia as the sunrise over the red desert lit up brilliantly.


Arriving into Melbourne around 8am, I had a day to chill with my mum, one of my sisters Tara, and their partners, around the pool and BBQ dinner. This is the summer I had been missing from UK!

Marlee, the cat my mum has recently adopted after its previous owners had abused her


Beautiful!

Sunset over the back yard pool after enjoying a day with 32ºC

View from the Emirates Lounge, after being upgraded to business class (yet another early rise)


Views from in front of the wing, from seat 8A (front left of business class) – The food and drink available was far superior to what’s normally offered in cattle class.

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01.05.10
Posted in Animals, Landscape, Nature, People, Travel at 4:00 pm by Warren Williams
The final day of an amazing trip through Mumbai and Goa had arrived, so after a little research, decided to take Angus to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in northern Mumbai. It is the largest urban park in the world, encompassing 104 km2. It is said to be the lungs of Mumbai, as it purifies much of the air polluition. Within the park you can catch a bus to see lions and leopards, whilst also venturing 6km along the park to the amazing Kanheri Caves. These 109 caves were built over 2,100 years ago, by Buddhist monks, into the solid hard basalt rock.
I’ve included more photos than usual in this last post from my Indian travels of 2009 & 2010. An amazing trip, that I couldn’t have done without the hospitality of my great friend Angus and his family. Thank you! 🙂


Lioness in the park








Baby Rhesus Macaque Monkey












Large caves of Kanheri






Angus standing against the 7m tall Buddhist statue

Large Chaitya with great Stupa

Low light filtering behind the Stupa

Textured Basalt floor

Walkway to more caves on the hill

More caves near the top, almost like the set of a movie

View in opposite direction showing the elevation (hard work in the Mumbai heat!)




First attempt at writing with a torch




Angus taking a break in one of the cool caves

Our friendly SIS security”guide”





Warren atop the caves and stairs of Kanheri


Angus walking back down the hill from the 109 caves

Spot the monkey?






Goat with incredible balance, walking on a branch!

Overflowing water tank


Last shot from India

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01.04.10
Posted in People, Travel at 7:30 pm by Warren Williams
I really thought nothing could beat the bus ride from Mumbai to Goa. Well I was wrong, with the return trip even more unbearable! I could have almost covered the length of New Zealand in the same duration of this trip. Alas, I was happy to finally make it, knowing only had another couple of days in Mumbai before being reunited with friends and family in Melbourne and Auckland.

Carpark around the back of our hotel in Malad West (not sure I’d park there?!)












Common non-AC taxi

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01.02.10
Posted in Birds, People, Travel at 8:30 pm by Warren Williams
Our last day in Goa was spent in Morjim after the recommendation from Darryl Baptista, which is home to many thousands of birds. It was also the least visited by other people, which was great news for us! I have noticed more recently, several news articles about the darker side of Morjim. Fortunately we never encountered any trouble during our three weeks in Goa, and would recommend anyone to FLY in and enjoy the cheap food, drinks and sun.

Local boy walking along the sandy banks

Morjim Fishing Boat

Thousands of birds in Morjim

Morjim boats lined up




Hawk on the lookout for smaller seabirds






Hermit Crab escaping



Really great water, much better than Calangute area

Angus in the crisp water


Thousands of birds flying north across the setting sun



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01.01.10
Posted in Animals, Landscape, People at 9:56 pm by Warren Williams
With a slow start to the day, spent at the apartment pool, and playing some table tennis, Angus invited his old friend Martina over for dinner at Baga Beach. After watching the sunset, and fishermen emptying their catch, we ran back to Brittos restaurant – However a powercut and lack of communication put an end to that. We ended up catching a rickshaw back to Calangute and eating some good food at Kamats.



Martina





A lonely fish


The entire family helping out with the catch







Northern end of beach away from the crowds

Looking back to the beach huts and restaurants including Brittos

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12.31.09
Posted in Astro, Landscape, People, Travel at 11:59 pm by Warren Williams
After spending a week around the beautiful island of Jua, enjoying the villages of Santo Estevam and Marcela on the mainland, we decided it was time to venture back to the beachside apartment for New Years celebrations. Stocking up on food supplies from the Mapusa market, Angus and I were preparing ourselves for the final few days in Goa! Time sure has flown.



Mutton ready for the chop

Mapusa Market Seller – All to keen for a photo









Final sunset of 2009, from Calangute, Goa, India

Angus farewelling 2009


Once in a blue moon… two full months within one calendar month
On the strike of midnight, Calangute beach and all the adjoining beaches (Candolim, Sinquerim and Baga), brightly lit up with thousands of fireworks and bonfires to welcome in the Year of 2010. Making this an even more special New Years, a partial lunar eclispe occurred only a few minutes later.

Lunar Eclipse of 2009 / 2010

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12.29.09
Posted in Animals, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Travel at 3:30 pm by Warren Williams
Returning back to Marcela the following morning, Raju was keen on showing more of the bush in the neighbouring areas, including his own property and yet more fruit! 🙂 It was a great walk, seeing a beautiful, peaceful view of India, as we encountered many various animals and workers in the field.


Bananas on Raju’s property



The sad face of a local dog with mange





Massive King Cobra nest

One of the many tropical birds

Yep, another



Cameleon



Rich Paddy Field

Wilderness adventures, reminiscent of “Stand by Me”

Water buffalo



Another stunning Kingfisher





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