Our trip to New Zealand was originally for five weeks, with the majority of time spent traveling around the South Island with many photo opportunities planned along the way. Due to logistical limitations in my itinerary, I hadn’t planned to visit the southeast of the South Island. However, while we were there, the war in Iran broke out, and our flights back home were severely disrupted. This meant we now spent another two weeks in New Zealand and had an opportunity to visit the Catlins area and the Moeraki Boulders, which I always hoped to visit and photograph one day.
When we arrived in the area and I was planning a sunrise photoshoot, I discovered that it would be high tide on the first morning, which was very disappointing as the water comes right up to the surrounding cliffs and would be dangerous to attempt. However, the following morning the timing looked ideal, so a sunrise was scheduled. Up early and then a 20-minute drive, I found myself on the beach in darkness and alone with perfect weather conditions for an opportunity to take a sunrise photo I had always dreamt of. My final processed picture of that morning fills me with pride and lots of great memories of my time in New Zealand and the way it all unfolded. It was meant to be.
