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Kura Moana by Lisa Reihana

As part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of The Artist this huge sculpture came to the Whairepo Lagoon on Wellington’s waterfront. This giant octopus – Te Wheke-a-Muturangi was chased by Kupe across the Pacific Ocean, so the story goes. In the words of the artist themselves:

“Kura Moana focuses on Te Moananui a-Kiwa, the great ocean, and its role as connector between Aotearoa and across all the Pacific nations. I have created a series of installations that invite families and communities to discover iconic locations on the Wellington waterfront in new ways, to think about some of the local histories and stories that relate to this place. It’s about travellers, those who dared to traverse the Pacific, people who seek something new, another life. Kura Moana is a treasure hunt across the waterfront and I’m hoping that kids will go on a journey to discover the different installations – there’s music, song, playful inflatable sculptures and an augmented reality experience. I can’t wait to bring this art experience to Pōneke.”— Lisa Reihana, Artist in Focus

This is one of the best sculptures I’ve seen in Wellington. I only wish I had stayed a little longer to see the sculpture lit up at night.

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Kaikōura Range from Kaikōura Peninsula

Kaikōura is a small town on New Zealand’s east coast of the South Island. It is famous for whale watching and seal colony. Both of which are popular with tourists. It’s also famous for the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake which cut off train and vehicle access to the town. Exploring the rocky coast around Point Kean Viewpoint, I was looking for Seals to photograph. It was dawn and the sun was rising but the seals were few and far between. Seeing the pink hues that the light from the sunrise was casting on the Kaikōura Range, I wanted to capture this. So I started looking around for a pool of water. This rock pool in the foreground was only about a metre across. Getting on my knees and putting the camera almost on the surface of the water, I was able to capture the mountain range reflected in the water.

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Len Lye Centre in New Plymouth

Driving through the centre of New Plymouth it would be impossible to not see this building. Day or night it stands out as an extreme contrast to the surrounding architecture. This is the Len Lye Centre. A modern (2015) extension to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. This is New Zealand’s first gallery dedicated to a single artist. Taken from in front of the Clock Tower On Devon Street West. If you look closely you can see the clock tower, lit up in green and purple lights reflected in the building. It was dusk when this was photographed. Using a 30 second long exposure helped capture the blur of car’s white headlights and red tail lights as people drove past. Designed by architect Andrew Patterson. It has a highly polished, stainless steel exterior that curves around the sides of the gallery. From almost any angle this looks futuristic and so unusual. The only difficulty I had was not photographing myself or my tripod reflecting in the building.

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Mount Taranaki reflection

I had been seeing photographs from this tarn for many years and really wanting to go there myself. It is one of the most well known views of Mount Taranaki. The stillness of the water makes the reflection of the mountain so clear. Pouakai Circuit Reflective Tarn is not, as I had hoped, a short stroll off the highway. On the map, it looks like an easy enough day hike of 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) there and then the same back. It is uphill, all the way with around 700 metres (2,297 feet) of aviation gain. This took a 2-3 hours each way but well worth it for this photograph. About 15 minutes before the tarn is Pouakai Hut. A Backcountry Hut with 16 bunk beds, cold running water and a containment tank toilet. This could be an option for people wanting to photograph this view at dawn, dusk or even at night under the stars. Which is my plan for my next hike up to the Pouakai Reflective Tarn.