Silence on the lake

Quarter-to-nine is go to the lake time. In fact, as the days pass and the days slowly shorten, this really needs to be adjusted to eight thirty, so I'm there with plenty of time to scope my blip position.

As promised to myself, I made my way off the headland at Sunset Point and headed out to the small outlying islands that are now high and dry, thanks to the receding lake as it drains out to the Canterbury Bight through Taumutu. Whilst I didn't make it to the lake shore a couple of hundred metres further out, it was a weird sensation walking out onto the dry bed.

The lake is incredibly peaceful at sunset. Whilst startled geese flee my footfalls and gulls circle suspiciously, occasionally screeching out warnings, the sense of isolation is palpable. Only the occasional light on the quiet State Highway 75 on the eastern fringe of the lake speaks of any nearby human presence.

Standing out in the dry lake bed lies this denuded shooting stall. Like a previous blip, this would usually be covered in brush and vegetation to provide some camouflage for hunters as they pick off ducks and geese for a few weeks from the start of May.

I got the camera down low on the tripod to give the impression of height and to capture some of the blue tinged mudflats as they catch the last of the evenings light.

Next stop - the lake shore itself...