There and back again in one day.

There and back again in one day.
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Back in the Hotel room where we started from in the morning. Looking back toward the mountains. Here is the hotel on maps.google.com.

Final leg

Final leg
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Tracking highway 73. Really zipping along at this point.

Sheep

Sheep
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

A collection of New Zealand travel photos wouldn't be complete without some sheep - here's the best I could do.

Revisiting the Canterbury Plains

Revisiting the Canterbury Plains
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

The evening sun created some nice lighting effects. The evening contrast between the fields, tussock and the mountains was nicely caught by my partner (using a Canon A80).

The train was now moving a full speed across the plain - the combination of low light and rapidly changing views made photography a bit difficult.

Viaduct (Broken River area?)

Viaduct (Broken River area?)
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Could be any viaduct in the Broken River area area or in the low res area beyond.

Evening sun on tussock

Evening sun on tussock
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

My partner took this image with a Canon A80. The image was taken at around 16:30 in the afternoon. The sun angle at this time of day is quite low - winter is only just leaving us and we are also quite far south.

Bridge on Riversdale Road?

Bridge on Riversdale Road?
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Matching the view, terrain, bridge and road to yahoo maps and other maps of the region makes me suspect this is the bridge on Riversdale road at this point on the map. The snow covered mountains are a zoomed out view of the ones in the previous image.

Distant clouds

Distant clouds
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

As with the next image, I think this image was taken where the road and rail come back together at this point on the Waimakariri. The sun is starting to get quite low in the west.

Blue Waters

Blue Waters
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

The Waimakariri and it's vast shingle beds. Late afternoon light.

Highway 73

Highway 73
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

This image was taken in the wide valley the contains the shingle beds of Waimakariri River in the Bealey Spur area. The road (just visible) runs on one side of the valley and the railway on the other. I think this may be a different angle and zoom onto the left of the area covered by the "Layer Cake" image posted previously.

The lower part of the image has been tweaked to bring out the colours in the scrubby lower slopes (I lowered the overall brightness and contrast in this area only).

Bridge

Bridge
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

I think the tiny bridge visible in the bottom of the picture is one of the bridges on State Highway 73 near Bealey Spur. This image was probably taken close to the location of the previous one.

Layer Cake

Layer Cake
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

Somewhere between Arthurs Pass and Bealey Spur. Possibly at the location indicated on the yahoo map link. I placed the map link approximately on the rail line - you can see features that might match if you south of the marked position.

Leaving Arthurs Pass

Leaving Arthurs Pass
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

On the sunny side of the pass, photography was a bit easier.

GAS MASK AND MONITOR MUST BE CARRIED

GAS MASK AND MONITOR MUST BE CARRIED
Originally uploaded by mchnz.

The Otira Tunnel is not a place to linger without a supply of good air. I wrote more about the tunnel here.