TITLE: Epic Aoraki

This is probably one of my favorite places in New Zealand. That day the sky was blue and cloudless, I walked for a couple of hours before reach the Hooker Lake several hours before sunset, the lake was not frozen and Mount Cook was mirrored in Hooker Lake below. Since the first time I have been in this place, years ago, I dreamed of taking photos of this scenery at night, the clear sky full of stars and perhaps with a good dose of luck the Milky Way aligned with the top of the mountain .... Well that day I decided to wait the night, and the show was just breathtaking, the photo I had in mind for years was exactly in front of me, as I had always dreamed of it.

I would like to briefly share with you and ancient story of this special mountain that has always struck my imagination:

According to the Maori legend, Aoraki and his three brothers were on a voyage around Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, when their canoe was stranded. They decide to climb on the top side of their canoe. The cold south wind hit them, froze them, and turned them into stone. According to the legend their canoe became New Zealand's South Island, Aoraki, the tallest of the brothers, gave his name to the highest peak, his brothers and members of his crew became the mountains of the Southern Alps.





AUTHOR: Emanuele Del Bufalo (New Zealand)

Amateur photographer, born in Italy based in New Zealand.