LIMITED EDITION RE-RELEASE | A breathless, clear evening looking down on Nugget Point, with the unusually still Southern Ocean stretching south towards Antarctica. Otago, South Island, New Zealand.
After unsuccessfully trying to scale the cliff to get a higher view than from the main pathway to the lighthouse, I thought better of it and decided instead to jump the gate leading up the path towards some kind of meteorological weather station, and simply knock on the door and ask if I could set up on the cliff edge nearby. Multiple signs warning people like me to ‘keep out’ made me nervous, but there was nobody there. I could also swear there was a sensor on the main path that I triggered, but I figured the closest town was 20 mins away and I’d have at least that long to try and get a photograph or two.
I spent an afternoon and evening sitting, watching and taking it all in, until this moment just before sunset when the nuggets themselves were illuminated with a beautiful apricot-coloured glow. It was one of the most memorable days of my career, and thankfully no angry meteorologists arrived to spoil the moment.
As an aside, that evening I bought some fried rice from the local Chinese takeaway store, and I don’t know if it was the endorphins running through my body from the gorgeous day, but it was the best damn fried rice I have ever tasted!…and the south coast of NZ is a LONG way from China. in fact I scarcely think there would be a Chinese person in that part of New Zealand. It’s funny the things that the mind chooses to remember…
