JASDIP....

Just Another Stunning Day In Paradise.

Woke to a cold but not tooooooo cold temperature.......hovering around the -1 or -2 mark.   The heater really has earned its keep this holiday!  The sun managed to poke its head over the nearby mountains at 10:25am.......quite some time after 'sunrise'.   I toyed with the idea of doing the Hooker Valley Track but talked myself out of it.......a 3 hour return journey would almost certainly be a 4 or 5 hour walk for me.......combination of not being as fit as I would like to be and photographs around every bend!  Instead I walked to just beyond the first swing bridge (there are 3 along the track) and spent some time exploring that area.  Rugged, stunning and totally absorbing.  The sun said its farewell for the day below the towering mountains at 3.05pm........that makes a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes of sunshine on this part of the valley floor........no wonder there are large pockets of frozen snow and ice everywhere (one patch that I did actually slip on and thought I might have smashed the camera as it hit the ground before I did.  All is fine though....more by luck than judgement.  Whew.)  Another reason not to do the longer walk........I'd need to start a lot earlier in order to ensure a return in sunshine.  Excuses, excuses....I know.  

Another clear night so had a play with some milky way shots.  Not hugely successful but OK......in extras with another swingbridge shot.  I learned that about 100 years ago the area visible more clearly in the extra was under the Mueller Glacier which has since receded a l-o-n-g way back up the valley.  What global warming.....??  

PS Check the area out on Google Maps in 3D.........fascinating viewing!