HOOKER VALLEY ON ALIEN PLANET - WANAKA, MOUNT COOK & LAKE TEKAPO, NEW ZEALAND - DAY 11

Being unable to sleep again, I was power napping from 9pm to midnight, awake from midnight to 3AM, and then shaken awake at 8AM to hurry, and get dressed.

We make eggs and spinach, grab some coffee and hit the road. Most of the landscape looks a lot like where we live in the West Coast. Rachel pulls over once, and she can tell Ashley and I are a little sick of her antics by constantly pulling over delaying our drive. Relative to what we’ve seen, this view is mediocre and not worth the stop in our opinion. Rachel is much more excitable in these situations, while Ashley and I keep things in perspective. We don’t stop anymore unless we need a pit stop. I feel this is good because we have a lot of ground to cover today. I don't know why, but I'm in a particularly bad mood. I think it's just lack of sleep, lots of eating sandwiches, lots of coffee, and as Rachel said yesterday- Lots of time in the car. We stop at a very famous wool shop in Tarra. New Zealand is known for its Merino wool, and that’s what they sell here. There’s a famous sheep in Tarra as well, named Shrek- The ugliest sheep I've ever seen. I look inside the shop to buy something for Mom, but I have no idea what she’d like- If anything. Because we’re not shopping anymore, and we live in one of the hottest cities in the country, the point of buying something here becomes moot.

Satisfied, we head back to the car. We take a few more bathroom breaks on the way. This seems a little random to include, but it was so prevalent, that I thought it was kind of shocking and incredible- Every single public bathroom we’ve hit throughout our entire road trip has signs in Mandarin about how to sit, and not squat on the toilet. Even as I went to open the door, the sign “open” had a Chinese character over it. It’s off season, but I thought New Zealand is as kind as Canada, going to that extent to accommodate visitors. It did make me laugh a little bit over the fact that there are instructions on how to take a shit. Duly noted, bathroom stalls. Duly noted.

A few hours in the car, and we stop at the bluest water I’ve ever seen. It’s glacial water, and our theory is, is that because it’s so cold, nothing can live in this water, rendering it so blue and "clean". We have heavy fog all day, and the fog over the river / lake is bouncing and reflecting the blue color of the water onto the fog above it. The colors are brilliant. The only thing I can compare this to, is The Blue Lagoon in Iceland- But this isn’t man made. Surrounding the water, are pink/ish plants and flowers. It feels like we arrived on an alien planet. It really looks sci-fi, and "more magnificent than Earth itself".

We carry on in the car for another 30mins, and reach our destination for Mt. Cook. We have a three mile hike, and it’s beautiful. We turn to park the car at "Hooker Valley". Because I'm a mature, grown adult, who can make my own decisions, I beg the girls to pullover so I can take a photo.

We park, and start our ascent. The beginning doesn't feel like much- Just a generic trail. We become progressively more stunned at the beauty when we come to the first bridge. The blue water flows all around us. Mountains and glaciers surround us too. It feels like we’re walking through Middle Earth from Lord Of The Rings. All three of us agree, Rachel would be Frodo because she's a brunette, Ashley would be Sam because she's blonde, and somehow I got Legolas because I have long blonde hair, and lanky limbs. I'll take it. We carry on until we hear a MASSIVE crack that reverberates and booms throughout the mountains. We freeze from fear, and look around to see that the noise is coming from the glacier at the top of the one of the mountains. We see a piece of the glacier of epic proportions break off, and slide down into an even louder boom, leaving behind a flowery cloud of white powder. Rachel informs us that because of climate change, this place is known to melt and change regularly. Tourists see a new glacier everyday. We're in awe of what we just heard and witnessed, but are only reminded of the sad reality that most people refuse to believe.

Onward, I try to shoot a lot for my Timberland spec commercial. I like what I got, and I hope they like it too when I submit it to them. Our elevation now is at 3,000 ft. We break for water, a snack, and to rest Ashley's hip. I run around a bit while Rachel and Ashely chat so I can shoot some more and explore areas that aren't roped off for the public's safety. I get much closer to the river, but retreat after being intimidated by its power, and fear of falling in.

We reach Mt. Cook, and have his INCREDIBLE view of the glaciers, blue river, and surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, the peak of Mt. Cook is hiding behind clouds. We wish and hope and pray for a peek of the peak, but to no avail. We hang around a bit, and enjoy what we are able to see, and I carry on shooting. Eventually, we turn back and halfway through, the clouds move JUUUUUUST enough, and we catch a glimpse of Mt. Cook's peak. It’s New Zealand’s highest point, and it’s beautiful.

We head over now to Lake Tekapo. On the road again, and only stopping once to see the blue river / lake once more as the sun sets, giving us a cotton candy sky. I have to repeat myself because it truly looks like another planet with the water and sky with such brilliant and vibrant colors. It’s absolutely stunning.

Satisfied with a very successful adventure, and me with my shots, we inhale our car snacks and carry on all the way to Lake Tekapo. We commence the usual check-in and grocery run ritual, and drive back to our hostel to drop off the goods. We head back out for dinner, but I have Rachel stop the car immediately, just as we were pulling out of the campsite.

After three days of attempting to catch long exposure shots of the Milky Way on lakes, of course third time’s a charm. God opens up the Heavens and gives me something better. Tonight’s the night. The stars come out, and for fear of missing them, I tell Ashely and Rachel to go to dinner in town, while I stay behind and shoot. I want these pictures more than I want food.

They drop me off, and I shoot for two hours. More than what my camera is capturing, I'm truly amazed that I'm able to see The Milky Way with just my naked eye! Lake Tekapo is known for this view, but I was expecting another hit-and-a-miss for actually being able to capture anything. I’m pleased with my shots, and can’t wait to edit them. The session began a little bit foggy, but the sky cleared up, and the stars came out more and more. It was glorious to see this as you gaze up into Space. I’ve never been more in awe with the night sky, other than when I went hunting for the Northern Lights in Iceland. It was freezing cold at the end, and completely worth it. *(For both trips).

The pictures will have to speak for themselves again here, but hopefully you can envision what I can’t put into words.

No time to stop. Another early wake up call, and another road trip with a hike included.

-eM