Cape Farewell Spit Winds Video

In the last entry, I described the winds blowing at the Spit. The patterns created was amazing. Well in this entry we have a short video which shows this spectacular effect.

Cape Farewell Spit, Golden Bay, New Zealand

A place well worth visiting is Cape Farewell Spit. This Spit spans 42 km in length and starts from Cape Farewell, which is the most northern point of the South Island, New Zealand and extends just pass the middle of Golden Bay. The Spit is a protected area and the conservation department only allows the public to explore the first 4 km.

Shows the key places mention on this entry.

Access to the rest of the Spit is by the Farewell Spit Eco Tour (http://www.farewellspit.com/). Their base of operations is in Collingwood a small town in the Golden Bay region. The journey took us to Cape Farewell, before the 4WD travel to the Spit.

Panorama of Cape Farewell

Evidence that Cape Farewell is the northernmost part of the South Island

As the 4WD entered the Spit, you noticed just how stark the landscape on Cape Farewell Spit can be. You see dunes and sand as far as the eyes can see. The amount of wind and sand being deposited on the Spit was amazing. The delicate patterns of the wind can be seen.

Our transportation to the restricted access area of Cape Farewell Spit

Black and white of the wind and sand as seen at Cape Farewell Spit

The wind forms wonderful patterns captured up close

The Spit is a sanctuary for birds and there were numerous Pied Oystercatchers pairing up on the sand. You see them standing on one leg as lone figures across the sandy horizon. The area is a bird watcher’s paradise.

Picture of a lone Oystercatcher on the sandy plains of Farewell Spit

Our destination was the only lighthouse on the Spit. We can see its lights blinking from our beach front accommodation. Up close, it wasn’t a typical stone and masonry lighthouse. Far from it, the lighthouse was made of metal and it stood tall on the Spit. We had tea at the location and headed back to base.

Abstract panoramic picture of the Cape Farewell Spit Light House

The Light House

On the way back, we stopped at the base of a sand dune and climbed to the top on foot. There you can see the terrain that makes Cape Farewell Spit unique.

Captured on top of a dune at Cape Farewell Spit

All up the trip took 6 hours and we had an excellent time.

Golden Bay, New Zealand

Golden bay is an area well worth many visits. The bay is situated at the very top of the South Island. Its original name was Murderer’s Bay as named by Abel Tasman (first European to discover New Zealand). Our Golden Bay trip was only for 4 short days but to be honest we could have stayed there forever! There is so much to see and do at Golden Bay and four days is nowhere near enough.

Photo taken from the Golden Bay Lookout. Towards the horizon and around the mountains is the city of Nelson.

We stayed at Adrift at Golden Bay (http://www.adrift.co.nz) which offered an exceptional beach front accommodation. Right outside our veranda was the beach and it was spectacular.

Our accommodation at Adrift. The photo shows the beach house along with the beach side view.

One of the first things we noticed was the receding tide. At Golden bay high tide occurred right up to the cottage with low tide stretching up to 50-100 metres toward the horizon. Boats that were moored on a pier become marooned at low tide.




Time lapse of the tide as viewed at the beach house. This was from midday to approximately 6:00 pm and consisted of 130 shots in total.

Am I an analytical or creative person? Or can you be both?

In answering this, there are two parts to this tale.

I have always been an analytical person.

In fact, so analytical to a point where at one stage of my life I was a scientist buried in research, reading papers and text books and publishing my findings. Some say the classical scientist that used logic, processes and experimentation to achieve a measurable outcome or result.

All this changed in 2005 when I took an interest in photography.

Photography became my escape, away from the science. It allowed me to explore the non-logical, the uninhibited and the creative world. Through the years, my skills have improved and passion grown for this art. You can see my work at http://natureshues.redbubble.com , http://natureshues.smugmug.com or http://www.natureshues.com.au

My career took a big left turn towards being a marketer! White lab coat no more! I spend my time exploring and developing creative marketing ideas!

These days I am both the Ying and the Yang. Using both analytical and creative sides in new and exciting ways.

This blog is about my creative side. It will show case my photos and journey as a proud creative.