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This painting is quite special, as it progresses it takes me straight back to the three-day, two-night summer adventure into the Mole Tops with the kids.
Our trip took us in via Watson Creek, heading into the Mole Tops before making our way out via the Jameson Ridge Track. Traveling with the kids made the journey as much about the experience of being out there together as it was about reaching a particular destination. There was time to slow down, explore, stop and look around – the sort of trip where the landscape becomes part of the memory. There were memorable moments such as the final climb to the first campsite as the sun fell - unfortunately this involved thigh high speargrass (on an adult) in abundance so as the kids were exhausted they made their suffering well heard as they got pricked repeatedly.
The higher you climb in this part of Nelson Lakes National Park, the more the character of the landscape changes. Beech forest gives way to open tussock country, sub-alpine shrubs and alpine plants, creating a feeling of space and isolation. In summer, the tops can be surprisingly colourful, with small tarns reflecting the surrounding ridges and sky.
It was these Mole Tops tarns and the background Mahanga Range that caught my attention. I was drawn to the combination of rugged high-country peaks, soft summer colours and the quiet pools of water sitting among the tussock. There is something particularly compelling about tarns, often understated features within a much bigger landscape that can completely change the way a scene feels. The blue invitation in a hot day - which it certainly was.
Back in the studio, I wanted the painting to capture more than simply what the landscape looked like. I wanted it to hold something of the experience of being there – the openness of the tops, the warm evening light, the scale of the surrounding mountains and the feeling of exploring untouched places with the kids.
More backcountry tarn scenes like this here.
You may have recently heard of the wilding pine problems around the country. Unfortunately the Molesworth has a fair dosing of this problem, there's a few dotted around the flatlands but once you get into the highcountry it becomes more apparent in areas. Some of these infections are from past windbreaks, some are from the neighbouring Leatham and some are seeding from...
At a very early stage is Birdcage Hut, with the first heavy base layers laid down and the initial details emerging.
Situated towards the head of the Cass River near Lake Tekapo Birdcage Hut is nestled against the Haszard Ridge on the valley floor at just under 1100 metres above sea level.
This hut is a derelict one...
After this latest snow dump we feel so lucky to have spent time just before it immersing ourselves in the Molesworth. Access in winter can be a challenge, snow and ice on the passes and we just heard that the rivers in Rainbow got blown out after the last rain/snow storm I imagine these are impassable now as they get gauged out very quickly.
It's very cool to see others just as passionate about the area as us - when we turned up it made me laugh to see another ute had skis in the back (although they had biked in) nothing was going to stop them going in! It would have been a very long...
