Discover the Sinclair Wetlands

GETTING THERE

Travelling to the Sinclair Wetlands is easy from Dunedin as they are well sign posted on SH1 with two turn-offs north or south of the location. If you are traveling south from Dunedin you can take the Henley-Berwick Rd turnoff and perhaps stop off at the Waipori Pump station for a picture of the old boat houses at the waterside.

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Boat Houses - Waipori Pump Station.

If you are traveling north from Milton, turn off at the Ewing Phosphate Building, also wroth a picture. In spring you can enjoy the Daffodils. I am not sure how long the building has been tagged for, but it does break my heart that someone would deface such a beautiful old building.

Ewing Phosphate Building.

THE SINCLAIR WETLANDS

I had not learnt anything about the wetlands before my visit. I would suggest taking snacks and plenty of water as the stroll isn’t strenuous at all but it is good exercise. As the ‘wetlands’ name suggests there is plenty of water about.

Sinclair Wetlands

Sinclair Wetlands

Elevated pathway - Sinclair Wetlands.

Sinclair Wetlands

The Sinclair Wetlands stretch on and on. I was amazed at the size of the eco-system. There is also a huge native tree planting initiative taking place alongside development of new lookouts and areas of interest.

Native tree planting - Sinclair Wetlands.

Native trees line the track. - Sinclair Wetlands.

The wetlands are well marked out and there are a few places of interest to visit, the best advice I have is to follow your nose and see what happens.

Bird hide - Sinclair Wetlands.

Historic Water Pump - Sinclair Wetlands.

My visit of the Sinclair Wetlands took me about 7000 steps, I do recommend gumboots and thick socks. Plus the wetlands are exposed to the elements so hat and jacket wouldn’t go amiss on cooler days. The Sinclair Wetlands are a fantastic expression of love for the environment. Without doubt I’ll be back again for another visit.

HEADING HOME

I never hesitate to stop the car for a picture opportunity. Here is a lush Spring scene of the South Island in New Zealand.

Springtime in New Zealand.

The best waterfall to visit in the Catlins

There are four main waterfalls to visit driving along the Southern Scenic Route in the Catlins area of the South Island. On my visit I unintentionally bypassed Matai falls, so I will need to update this blog at a future date. All of the waterfalls outlined in this blog post are worth a visit, but if I were to pick just one…well read on to find out.

Purakaunui Falls

If you are driving south, Purakaunui falls is the first waterfall you will find after passing through the small township of Owaka. Please note Owaka is probably your best stop for a bite to eat and a coffee before you drive into the wild rainforest area of the Catlins. Purakaunui falls is a short drive off the scenic southern route and there is a large carpark with toilet facilities for visitors. The pathway is extremely well maintained and the walk to the falls takes about 5 minutes. The viewing platform is large and extremely sturdy. I visited the falls at the beginning of Septemeber and there was plenty of water flow to enjoy. Of all the waterfalls this one is probably the most popular so expect to see plenty of other visitors. Purakanui falls is definitely the most ‘chocolate box’ type image you will make on your waterfall odyssey.

Purakaunui Falls.

The next waterfall is Matai Falls, however I made the mistake of taking the backroad from Purakauni falls and missed Matai falls completely, so head back the way you arrived if you want to see Matai falls as well.

Mclean Falls

Mclean falls is located at the same turnoff as The Whistling Frog cafe. This is your next chance for a barista coffee and a bite to eat. The Mclean falls track entrance is located off a long winding gravel road and also has toilet facilities. The track is extremely well maintained and the walk to the falls is relatively easy going with a steep ascent to the waterfall viewing area. The Waterfall is impressive and had a great amount of water flow. I’d estimate the walk to take about 30 minutes to the falls and back.

The well constructed pathway of Mclean Falls.

Beautiful moss covered tree branches hang over the pathway to Mclean Falls.

Mclean Falls.

Koropuku Falls

The entrance to Koropuku falls is by the roadside of the Southern Scenic Route, so stay alert as you might drive past it. The waterfall is only a recent attraction. Two local men, Wayne Allen and Peter Hill decided to create a track to this small but charming falls. Over 15 years they worked on the track together and their efforts have not gone amiss as the bush walk to Koropuku falls is truely magical. It is said that they carried in 2000 punga logs to help create the track you walk over. Simply put Koropuku falls does not have the gravel path of the other bigger falls, but it does still maintain a connection to the bush and the track is truely magical.

Hop across these charming stepping stones on the Koropuku falls track.

A beautiful moss covered tree trunk on the Koropuku Track.

Beautiful punga logs have been laid down on the track for you to walk over.

Another beautiful rainforest scene from Koropuku falls track

Here stones have been laid to help make your way along this magical track.

Here you have to ‘walk the plank’ to cross the stream not far from the Koropuku falls.

Koropuku Falls.

As you have probably guessed by now my favourite waterfall to visit in the Catlins is the Koropuku falls. The workmanship of Wayne and Peter who crafted the track to the falls is gorgeous. It is a track that melds into the surrounding bush and honours the environment. The falls themselves are nowhere near as impressive as Purakaunui or Mclean falls, but the adventure and fun of visiting Koropuku falls is on another level. It is also of note that hardly any tourists know about these falls, so you might get them all to yourself.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Lockdown Photography.

NB: This is a rolling blog, as during lockdown this has become a place to pop images up I enjoy taking.

Let’s face it lockdown is a just a big pile of poop. If it saves lives then I’m all for it, but having been in it for over a week, it does feel a little like imprisonment. Still, I am not about to let the situation stymie my creativity, so I have made an effort to look for things around the home and property to photograph.

In New Zealand there is a shortage of flour, as with more time on our hands it seems kiwis have become a nation of home bakers. Personally, I think this is marvellous as baking is fun and relaxing, a couple of things we all need right now. Myself, I love making pasta and pizza so that is where my flour ends up.

I am a huge fan of homemade pizza, especially with tomatoes and basil out of the hothouse, along with fries we dug from the vegetable patch. I am using a cheap vinyl backdrop here as well.

Same pizza night, but second one out of the oven. Topdown view using another cheap vinyl backdrop that looks great.

I have broken about 3 pasta maker machines over the years, but hopefully I’ve learned a thing or two about making nice pasta. Above, I rough cut these pasta ribbons with a pizza roller. Behind are some lovely tomatoes from the hothouse, with parsley and rosemary. The fake vinyl marble backdrop looks awesome.

More pasta, but this time I used the fettuccine cutter on the machine. Another fake vinyl backdrop with a porous cement look.

Something a bit different with these tasty curried lentil patties, packed with flavour, and a perfect filling with salad in wraps.

You may have noticed the beautiful purple flowers of the rosemary from one of the images above. Our local honey bees have been loving them as well. So over the past couple of days I have devoted 20 minutes or so to try and take a decent ‘macro’ photo of the bees doing their thing. The image below was taken from day 2 of my honey bee photography. I love it to bits, so I might be annoying those bees a little longer.

Fujifilm X-H1, XF35mm 1.4 @ f5.6, with macro extension tube MCEX-16. I triggered a flash I held in my left hand to help illuminate the scene. The key here was getting the subject and flowers lined up on the same focal plane so not only is the bee sharp but we also have parts of the dew covered purple flowers in focus.

A different day, but a lovely shot of a wonderful honey bee using same set up as above.

An overcast day with plenty of rain made for lovely conditions to use the Fujifilm extension tube.

A lovely yellow rose covered in raindrops. Again using the Xf35mm 1.4 @ f8 with the MCEX-16 (20 odd images stacked.)

I’m not sure how long this pandemic will continue for but I know my camera will be getting a work out no matter what. Hopefully you too have found a creative outlet to pursue during these trying times. Stay safe and thanks for stopping by.

Trev Hill is a professional photographer based in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Dunedin Landscape Photography: St Clair Beach

Getting There

St Clair Beach is easily one of the most popular destinations for locals and visitors alike to enjoy a swim, stroll or a coffee in one of the lovely seaside esplanade cafes. It is less than 10 minutes drive from the centre of Dunedin city, Access to the St Clair Esplanade and the beach is via Victoria road. There is plenty of free parking along the waterfront.

A cafe and surf shop on the corner of the St Clair Esplanade.

The main reason many landscape photographers flock to St Clair beach is to photograph the old set of piles that were originally designed to help stop erosion on the beach. In 2015 a huge set of king tides pulverised the poles which had numbered beyond twenty, now only a few remain.

St Clair Poles 2015 New Years Day.

St Clair Poles July 2015. King tides decimate the poles and suck the sand from the beach exposing rocks and pebbles.

St Clair Poles as they look today.

Pink hues from the sunset match the flowers in the foreground of this image, I placed the famous poles in the background to give context to the location.

A moody start to the day on St Clair beach.

Summary

It would be a shame to visit Dunedin and not visit St Clair beach, even if it were only to stroll along the Esplanade. However the spot tends to get lovely sunrises and sunsets so is well worth a trip out with your camera.

Trev Hill is a professional photographer based in Dunedin.