Fiordland's Lost & Found

July 2018 was a wet and cold winter from what I can recall. Perhaps it just felt that way in contrast to our cosy rental campervan, the ever-present homely warmth glowing through the curtains, conveniently waiting with the reassurance of a steaming hot chocolate to thaw frosted fingers or a dry towel after an icy swim. Although the notion of rugged adventure pales somewhat in the relative glamour of a spacious campervan, I can assure you we made an adventure of it even then. Sleeping out under the stars in -2 degree frosts, or hiking hours up snow crusted rocks just to see the world from a different angle! But I hear you, the campervan is still nearby with a snug pair of dry socks and a comfy bed waiting to fold you into its warm sheets. So yeah, still an element of glamor I suppose... Either way, this trip certainly accentuated the cold as we journeyed into the southwest depths of Te Waipounamu.

Fiordland, with its rugged peaks, shear cliffs, and plunging valleys; either glistening with snow or smothered in low cloud - or both. Fiordland with its pallet of lush green forests, Powerade-blue rivers, and fields of beige tussock spotted with a complete spectrum of florescent flowers. This land of stunning vistas, volatile weather, and fascinating wildlife; with endless tracks winding away into absolute remoteness. So beautiful and alluring in the sun, but capable also of mustering a magnificent tempest. True wilderness, completely untamed despite peoples fruitless attempts. Like many before me, and many yet to visit, I fell in love with the place.

It wasn't new to me -we'd ventured to Piopiotahi/Milford Sound on a number of journeys since I was young, and I was already years into my romance with the place- but it was the first time I brought with me a camera. At last, a chance for me to capture what words couldn't describe. To take a slice of the whenua home with me on a little hard drive. Cute really, when you put it like that.

Or disenchanting. You decide.

Anyway, capture I did. Hundreds of photos. Probably thousands, with my track record - any and everything in sight. It's a miracle I didn't run out of storage space with my burly 8 gigabyte SD. If you've ever been there you'll understand there's no shortage of things to point your camera at, and particularly in the digital age without the confines of expensive film rolls - nothing could stop me. I would document it aaaall! The holiday was great from memory. Many spectacular spots, fun times, good laughs and probably a few enraging games of RISK were played (maybe only one, it depends who triumped...) I took all my photos, loaded them onto the computer, and promptly forgot about them/ probably couldn't be bothered sorting them because there were so damn many...

*Cue time passing*

A few years later I was wading through a pungent swamp of outdated digital files on our decrepit family computer (one of those folder-in-a-folder-in-a-folder type situations), certain that I must be missing some files, and I came across an unlabeled wee fella tucked away in an unassuming corner of 'Coles Things' all on it's own. I curiously opened it and triggered a visual avalanche of snow capped peaks, stormy clouds and scores of kea-sitting-on-a-rock. A multitude of scenes and memories from winter 2018, and among the cacophony a number of stunning shots that have become favourites both of mine and of folks generous enough to buy my prints.

Full credit to the 60x optical zoom and my enthusiastic appetite for photographing everything in sight. I was very pleased. Some day I'd like to create a book of my photographs, maybe one just for Fiordland, that would be cool. It's certainly a place that deserves it's own books, from many different photographers too - there already are a number which I've been caught up in, perusing for hours. Real page turners. For now, I hope you enjoyed a wee chuckle and I'm happy to report the folder has been labeled and listed in orderly chronological fashion with all my other photos. Though not sorted. I still need to cull a good portion of them...

I need that storage space after all.