05 June 2009

Ruahine

Typical RuahineThis is a typical Ruahine scene — the top of one of the many slips along the headwaters of the Pohangina Valley. The weather — that dark, ominous cloud behind — isn't exactly rare, either. This is a telephoto shot from outside Leon Kinvig hut.
All content © 2009 Pete McGregor

4 comments:

Anne-Marie said...

I love those tree skeletons and the colour of the sky - looks like a storm brewing.

pohanginapete said...

Anne-Marie, those dead trees are (sadly) all too common. The reasons are complex, but human intervention, in various ways, undoubtedly had a substantial part to play.

In fact, the weather cleared and we had a great day, eventually heading on down to Ngamoko. I got to show Andreas some whio, too — I can't imagine there'd be a lot of people from Denmark who've seen whio in circumstances like that. A buzz all round.

Ruahines said...

Kia ora Pete,
That angle of climb looks familiar! Some of the best ephiphytes I have seen in the ranges are across the river from the hut. Kinvig always has a very remote, almost haunting feel to it.
Cheers,
Robb

pohanginapete said...

Robb, yes, it's so typical — the vegetation, the steepness, the traces of deer trails on the slip faces... This is the big slip just downstream from the hut. I'd love to be back there now, but I'd most definitely be carrying in my big down sleeping bag!