10/03/2024
Taranaki Anniversary weekend was coming up and with a new moon phase I was keen to get out for an astro shoot. One of the locations on my list was Henry Peak and after checking the Photopills app it looked like the Milky Way would be arching over the Taranaki Maunga from that location, however with the season being relatively new it would mean a very early morning and the location was a 3 hour tramp. I was eagerly watching the weather and it appeared there might be a small gap in the weather.
I decided to head up in the day time and possibly stop at the Pouakai tarns for a sunset shoot if the wind was minimal and there was a reflection before venturing on to Henry Peak, possibly staying the night. With my pack already at 17kg and knowing I had the never ending steps up the Mangorei track, I decided just to take a camp roll and not the tent…..I had an emergency shelter and thermal bivey, plus plenty of warm clothes and a spare set to change into when I got there.
The Mangorei track didn’t seem that bad and I was soon at the Pouakai Hut, topped up my water bottle and headed to the tarns. I could see the tarns as I headed down the track and it appeared that a small settlement was established there…..the wind was rippling up the tarns so after seeing the crowd I decided to keep going.
It’s an easy walk to the base of Henry Peak; however the climb up to the lookout is a bit more challenging with 5, almost vertical step ladders.
On my way there the sun was setting and the last rays were forming a golden glow on the
ridges and with the shadows in the gullies made a stunning contrast.
Upon reaching an opening in the foliage I took the opportunity to shoot a few photos, the wind combined with my wet sweaty clothes from climbing the Mangorei track made it brutally cold but I needed to keep my dry clothes for when I reached the Henry Peak lookout.
By the time I got to the base of Henry Peak dark was closing in and with the foliage overhanging the track and making it hard to see the steps, it was time to don the headlight. At the lookout the wind was blowing a gale which wasn’t going to be the best for long exposure shots. I stripped off my wet sweaty clothes and donned my thermal long johns, thermal top, a dry weave, a polar fleece, a puffer jacket, gloves, wind proof leggings and a wind/rain jacket. After scouting around I found a location slightly down the ridge where there was minimal movement in the foliage that I would be able to shoot an astro.
It was still a few hours until the core was going to be visible; however I just happened to have packed my light painting stick to pass some time. The combination of wind and getting dizzy from spinning around in the dark made this quite a challenge to stay on the octagonal seat in the middle of the lookout. It was now about an hour from the core being visible so I decided to set the camera up for a star trail.
After a 7min test shot to determine where the celestial pole was I set the camera going. In the test shot the pole appeared to be slightly off the peak of the mountain, it would have to do though as I couldn’t shift back up the ridge without encountering that bitterly cold wind. To my surprise when I stacked the image at home, it was directly over the peak. A total of 159 photos stacked on top of each other. Each photo captures a small amount of the rotation of the earth in relation to the stars, when stacked the image shows the total the earth rotated during the time the images were captured.
The plan was to set my alarm for an hour and try and get some sleep…..nature decided that was not going to happen. I threw my camp roll down on the sheltered side of the seat and pulled my pack up for a pillow, but the wind was still going right through me. I decided to throw my camp roll between some tussocks; the insect population didn’t want me there so it was back to behind the seat…..I still had my emergency shelter and thermal bivey if it got unbearable. Shortly after I had settled down I heard a noise, I rolled over and flicked the torch on to be greeted by two beady eyes......no it wasn't a bear, they are getting ready to hibernate. It was a possum, I'm not sure who got the biggest fright. He looked a bit like a Paul, so I named him Paul, but changed it to Pebbles after I realized it was he who had got the biggest fright. Not long after I heard a noise behind me...yes it was Pebbles trying to flank me.......this time I just about got his tail, he would have been in trouble then. He tried a third time, but I missed him again, he must have smelt my bacon and cheese buns with egg, cheese and mayo....who couldn't resist that.
The alarm went off; this was going to be a sleepless night. The cold had taken its toll on my camera battery so I replaced it before heading down the ridge to shoot a pano with the milky arch over the mountain, a total of 24 photos stitched together.
I shot a vertical pano from up on the lookout and then deliberated what to do next, it wasn’t much point staying on the peak in the bitterly cold wind, so I decided to make my way back to the tarns in the dark for a sunrise shoot….the wind was supposed to drop at the tarns at sunrise so I may get a reflection. The location of the tarns is visible from the Henry Peak lookout and I had expected to see torch lights from other astro hunters, however the wind factor must have deterred them. I stripped off all my warm dry clothes so they wouldn’t get wet with sweat and methodically made my way back to the tarns along the overgrown track. I had plenty of time to get to the tarns so there wasn’t a need to rush and possibly injure myself. Once I had negotiated my way down the 5 five vertical ladders and had reached the base of Henry Peak the path opened up making for an easier journey.
I saw the opportunity to shoot another milkyway pano before heading on to the tarns. I reached the tarns about 4.30am; the wind had dropped slightly so I played the waiting game, memorized as I sat watching the trail of head lights from the climbers slowly making their way up the mountain with hopes of summiting in time to see the sunrise. The changing light suggested that dawn was approaching and headlights could be seen making their way down from the Pouakai plateau…time to get the camera set up before the masses arrived. The sunrise was rather mediocre; however the wind had dropped revealing the well known reflection that many endure the arduous climb up the Mangorei track to capture.
I managed to capture a couple of long exposures before the masses arrived….one Japanese tourist would run out to the front of the tarns and would go through a well rehearsed set of posses seemingly oblivious to those patiently waiting to capture the image that they had made the journey to capture. He would then run back in, apologise, check his images and then run back out to perform another set of poses, making his apology hollow and meaningless. It had been many years since I had shot a sunrise or sunset at the tarns and I sat watching the ciaos, remembering the times when you could almost guarantee the peaceful beauty as you shot image after image without interruption. I decided to leave the pandemonium and head for home, cans, bottles, tissues and chocolate rappers littered the tracks and drones buzzed annoyingly from those that want the glory of seeing nature while showing very little respect for it.
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