Last Light on the Rangitata

With a Nor'Wester blowing up on the top of the Waikari Hills, by the time I dropped down onto the braided plains of the Rangitata Valley this evening,  I had escaped the winds and just bathed in the near silence.

Whilst the river is a powerful beast, it purrs like a pussy cat here upstream of the gorge; its power is most felt further down stream as it it siphoned off for irrigation, its white-waters rafted, and its rapids fished for salmon. In short, it's a river of contrasts.

But one thing is for sure - it is at its best as the light starts to fade and the stars start to twinkle.

This is a panoramic view upstream, looking towards the Two Thumb range on the left, with the sun set behind it, round to the Harper and Moorhouse Ranges.

In the other photo you'll see the view across the river towards Mt Tripp, rising nearly 1400m above the river below, also seen above at the far right.