On the snow line — take 2

Close up, alpine flora; Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie 2019

Close-up, alpine flora. Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie 2019

Monday Macro

Road

My road to paradise. SH48 to Whakapapa and Mt Ruapehu. Image: Su Leslie 2016

I don’t ski or snow-board — or even do much hiking — but one of my absolute favourite places in this country is Tongariro National Park, and particularly the area around the Chateau Tongariro and the Whakapapa ski-fields.

There is a special excitement when I round a particular corner and catch the first glimpse of the Chateau. I can’t explain it, and maybe I don’t need to. I am thinking it’s time for another road trip though.

Posted to the Rag-Tag Daily Prompt — road. Ironically, given the prompt included a quote from Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings — Tongariro was used as the location of Mordor in the filming of LOTR.

“Sam: Mordor. The one place in Middle-earth we don’t want to see any closer, and the one place we’re trying to get to.” — JRR Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Sometimes the journey is the best part

Ruapehu dawn. Road-trip with the boy-child. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

“The journey not the arrival matters”
– T.S. Eliot

Eliot’s words are particularly true when the journey is made in good company. This shot was taken last year when the boy-child and I were on a road-trip to visit family in Whanganui. A-typically for a teenager (but typical of the photographer that he is), he insisted on an extremely early start so that we could experience sunrise on the Desert Road.

Posted to Debbie’s weekly quotation-inspired challenge, at Travel with Intent.

Six Word Saturday: nice spot for a coffee break

Six Word Saturday is hosted by Debbie at Travel with Intent. You can see her post and others here.

Yep, you guessed it. Prepared earlier.

Alpine flora, seen on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

… and yet, er, another one I prepared earlier

Alpine flora, seen on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Probably my favourite plant from this photo-shoot. I love that two of the leaves are a decayed. Tomorrow I’ll post a more “perfect” specimen, so you can see how gorgeously bright are the living leaves.

… and here’s another one I made earlier

Alpine flora, seen growing around the snow line on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Another one I prepared earlier

Alpine flora, seen around the snowline on Mt Ruapehu, NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

 

So here’s one I prepared earlier

Alpine flora. Seen on Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

My blogging week is looking to be a bit disrupted, so I thought I’d take this as an opportunity to offer something I made earlier.

I’ve scheduled a few posts for the coming days, with images I shot of the beautiful and tiny plants growing around the snowline on Mt Ruapehu.

I don’t know what any of them are sadly, so if anyone in this wonderful blogging community with more botanical knowledge than me does know — please share.

And thank you to the BBC’s Blue Peter for the title of the post series.

Silent Sunday

Alpine flora, seen on Mt Ruapehu, NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017