Petrified Forest at Curio Bay
Fossilized tree trunk at Curio Bay after sunset, Southland, New Zealand
It is quite hard to imagine that this place once used to be a thriving forest.
Until about 180 million years ago when New Zealand was still part of a super continent Gondwana. Massive event of sheet flooding caused by, at that time nearby live volcanoes, flooded the area and almost instantly turned the forest into stone. Stone turning must have happened relatively quickly, in matter of months, as the trees didn’t have time to decay. Thanks to silica minerals not only trees but also ferns were preserved for us to wonder over.
This is a significant coastal location not only for New Zealand but also internationally, as these types of fossilized forests are very rare.
I had this location in my mind for quite some time, as I wanted to get some new photographs of this interesting place so it was for sure that Curio Bay gets included into my Southland trip. I spend a couple of nights her, exploring around and managed to make a few images.
I have quite few interesting frames from here actually, but it was the mood and gloominess of this night photograph which I like and decided to make a post of it.
I hope you’ll like it as well!
Taken with Nikon D800E and Nikkor 16-35 f4 lens.
Photo: ©Petr Hlavacek – www.nzicescapes.com
This image is not online yet, but you can find more of other coastal imagery in our gallery Coastal photos of New Zealand
Thank you and Enjoy!
Nikau Palms of New Zealand
Nikau palms in Punakaiki, Paparoa National Park, West Coast, New Zealand
In several grows, they are also scattered on the South Island, as well. Some of those spots on the Mainland is Nelson area and places on Banks Peninsula near Christchurch. On the West Coast you can see these beautiful, juicy green Nikau grows near Karamea on top of the West Coast, in Punakaiki and some are even occurring as far south as Okarito.
They grow up to 15m tall, with fronds up to 3m long.
Thanks to their distinctive, sharp look and vibrant green colours, these beautiful palms are great subject to photograph. The best time to photograph them is on dull, overcast day and ideally after the rain, which adds the extra shine and deepens the colours.
It is often said to use polarizing filter to get rid of reflections but in this case I prefer no polarizer at all.
It’s that shiny wet and cold dark green colour which make this photograph for me.
This photo was taken in Punakaiki with Nikon D800E and Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 lens.
Photo: ©Petr Hlavacek – www.nzicescapes.com
More images of Nikau Palms in New Zealand are available from our gallery Nikau Palms Stock Photos from native forests of West Coast of New Zealand
Thank you and Enjoy!
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