New Zealand

Aotearoa – Land of the Long White Cloud

Aotearoa – Land of the Long White Cloud

The last week was a wonderful week. I spent the last 10 days travelling around the North Island of New Zealand and visiting some of the most amazing landscapes that I have seen. I had the chance to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones but best of all I had the time to relax and get a lot of shooting done. Due to some ignorant people though the trip almost never happened. Wanganui Forest The impenetrable forest along the edges of Wanganui River

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Posted by Richard in Places, Travel, 0 comments
Australia

Australia

The city lights illuminates Sydney's Circular Quay  So here I am back in Australia. Well, I have actually been back here for a while now. Its been an interesting trip back home despite the fact that I haven’t really gone anywhere since I have been back. Its been raining a lot since I have been back this year which is great. If there was ever a country that actually needs rain it is Australia. The water reservoirs have been sitting on low for many years now and that country has been under constant water restrictions. The recent rainfall has bolstered the water supply a little. However if there was ever a country that suffers from mismanagement of its water supplies it has to be Australia. As soon as the level of the dams had risen slightly so too were the water restrictions eased.  The levels in the dams were dangerously low, to the point where some of the capital cities  had less than a years supply of drinking water left. The people here have become so used to living under water restrictions that surely it makes sense to leave the restrictions in place until the water levels have risen to a safe and comfortable point and there can be no danger in the immediate future.  Trees sit exposed by the low water levels in the Hume Dam brought on by years of drought.  Snowy Mountains, Australia.Above you can see a photo from the Hume Dam situated in the Snowy Mountain region. The trees that you see were a sunken forest covered by water when they built the dam and now exposed by the drought.

One thing I do love about being in Sydney is the easy access to its surrounding waterways and the natural beauty. It seems that you never have far to travel in order to get away from the crowds and the hustle and bustle. To the west you have the Blue Mountains, to the south the Royal National Park and in the North is Pittwater and Ku-ring-ai Chase National park. Even closer within 10-15kms you have spots such as Middle Head, North Head and Garigal National Park. Its something I find that a lot of the great cities in Europe lack. I guess that’s the trade off for not having all the castles and great cathedrals like The European cities have. Curl Curl Headland, Sydney, Australia

I have been tossing around a lot of ideas and making a lot of plans for future although nothing is definite yet. I am hoping to get a quick visit in to New Zealand while I am here. Its somewhere that I have always wanted to go but just never seem to get there. My circumstances might dictate that I have to actually get there this year which will be great even if it is only for a few days.

Posted by Richard in What's going on, 0 comments

Fieberbrunn Big Mountain

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Yesterday I made a trip out to Fieberbrunn near the Tyrolean/Salzburg border  to watch the qualifying round of the Big Mountain Freeride Tour. With a total of 10,000 Euros prize money, the contest has attracted 76 entrants from around the world all hoping for their chance to qualify for a spot on the prestigious ski and snowboard freeride world tour. Though the majority of riders come from Europe the contest has also attracted riders from as far away as New Zealand. The winner at Fieberbrunn qualifies for the Nissan Freeride de Tignes which starts on the 8th of March and has a prize purse of 40,000 USD.

Clouds had hampered the previous day with only 5 riders being able to  ski due to the diminishing visiblity. Yesterday the weather was clear and cold with the temperature being around -12° at 9 in the morning. There was a biting wind blowing which dropped the temperatures even further. Conditions were quite mixed on the course and a bit more snow would have been welcome as a few rocks were uncovered after a big landing or a heavy turn. Although the majority of the riders kept it safe there was a few throwing down a couple of big drops.  The final will be held between the 7th and the 15th of Feb (weather depending).

I am not sure if I will get to make it back to the final as this week in St. Anton the O’Neill Big Mountain Pro kicks off with some of the world’s top riders but if the chance arises I will definitely be making the trip back to Fieberbrunn to watch the final (and I shall be sure to take a bigger lens).

 

Posted by Richard in What's going on, 2 comments