Waimakariri Sunrise

The second day of winter. At 6.30am the outdoor temperature was 13.5ºC. We will pay for this balmy day.

Mornings like this are rare and I was determined not to miss it. I set off at dawn for the Waimakariri Gorge bridge and arrived too early. There was a thirty minute wait for the peak, but what a wait! At first there was a thin red line marking the horizon. The river was still dark. As the sky lightened I saw the great blackbacked gulls lifting from the riverbed and soaring against the nor'wester to rise above the gorge.

The river slowly took on the vivid red of the sky. Several birds ruffled the water below me. One skimmed across the surface as it took off, leaving a trail of fire on the water. A large flock of small birds flew from under the bridge, struggling to turn into the wind and flutter up to the tall pines on the upper terrace.

I tried to take photos. There was no room on the bridge for my tripod so I had to use the balustrade, which is not level. It was very tricky holding the camera level with one finger under it, composing the shot, and holding still as the wind buffeted me. The Gorge bridge is a very exposed place in a nor'west gale. Added to this I had to hurry off the bridge whenever I saw the lights of a vehicle approaching. Most of my shots turned out fuzzy, including ones that showed waves on the river caused by gusts of wind.