No.20 Buy Now Wanaka Milky Way

No.20 Buy Now The might be a place on Earth that is better to view the stars than Country NSW.  Memories of standing in -6°C under this Wanaka Milky Way lead me to suggest such a thing.
The Other Day

For a long time now, after seeing a lot of photos pop up on the web, I have wanted to attempt shooting a Wanaka Milky Way.  I was lucky enough to have a trip planned to New Zealand’s South Island back in August.  I couldn’t wait.  Due to catching a cold upon arrival, I spent the first couple of days laying low.  After a while, towards the end of the week I was good to go.  I spent the night roaming the sights of Wanaka looking for places to shoot the sky.  It was clear and vibrant.  I couldn’t have asked for a better night.  Therefore, I was racing around doing my best to capture as many shots as possible.

The moon was above the horizon until about 1 AM.  I actually thought it was going to set an hour earlier.  As a result, I ended up sitting at ‘The Neck’ on Lake Wanaka, about 50 minutes from Wanaka itself, waiting for the moon to set.

Once the moon set, however, it was game on.  For awhile I completely forgot about the sub-zero temperatures.  Lost in my own world, snapping away, practicing, experimenting and trying not to breathe on the lens, the time flew by.  It was only after I took this panorama near Glendhu Bay that I realized how cold I was.  It was 4 or 5 AM and I figured it was time to head to bed.

The quote at the end of this post reminds me of that night.

Thinking of the stars night after night I begin to realize ‘The stars are words’ and all the innumerable worlds in the Milky Way are words, and so is this world too. And I realize that no matter where I am, whether in a little room full of thought, or in this endless universe of stars and mountains, it’s all in my mind – Jack Kerouac

What an experience.  I can’t wait to get back to Wanaka to try it once again.  Maybe next year.

What do you think?

Until next time,

Jimmy.