The Crown Range Road is one of New Zealand’s most spectacular drives. Taken from the Crown Range Summit in July (mid winter). At 1076 metres above sea level the pass is the highest sealed road in New Zealand. As you can see it had snowed recently. The carpark was a bit of an ice rink but at least the road had been cleared and salted. From here we are looking south west along the very twisty road towards Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. The snow topped mountain on the left is Ben Cruachan. Part of the Remarkables Skifield and mountain range.
Helicopter on the Snow
Just three miles south from the summit of The Nuns Veil mountain we touched down on the snow. Stepping out of the chopper into a foot of fresh show was increabile. From this viewpoint we had great views looking across at Tasman Lake and Mount Cook on the other side of the valley. Until recently I had never been in a helicopter and it was a fantastic experience. It was like being in a small plane that moved more like a roller coaster.
Frozen Bridgewater Canal at Worsley
Here we can see the snow covered tow path and frozen canal leading your eye to the Packet House at the end of the Bridgewater Canal. The canal runs from here to Runcorn and then into the Manchester Ship Canal. I often make the mistake with my photos of shooting too wide a view. In this case I think quite the opposite. I have close-ups of the Packet House that I published earlier, but in this photograph I think that the area around the Bridgewater Canal at Worsley is shown in the right amount of detail.
Bridge over the Bridgewater Canal
Frozen canals always intrigue me and make me want to jump on the ice. It looks as though the canal boats are imprisoned. This photograph shows an alternative view of the bridge over the Bridgewater Canal which I published a few days ago. If you look closely you should be able to make out a fellow photographer on the bridge taking a photograph of the famous Packet House (and me). You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see the view he had from the bridge!