Whakatipu basin, the lake and surrounding mountains hold a special place for me. North and South is where the weather fronts come from, sometimes bone chilling storms, sometimes rain and wind but usually followed by a calm with subtle glimpses through the clouds of the landscape forms or that stunning Central Otago massive big blue sky.

It is also a somewhat conflicted location – Vineyards and adventure activities set amongst and around massive centres of tourism and overwhelmed infrastructure. The back valleys offer pockets of isolation where life is calmer and where you can lose yourself in the beech forests of the Rees, Dart and Greenstone valleys and their offshoots. Here you can focus on the micro in life – the trees, flora and fauna.