Coastal scenes like this abound along the South Island West Coast north of Haast, where waves pound on deserted beaches literally just a stone’s throw below the main West Coast road. The road between Bruce Bay and Haast clings precariously to rugged coastal hills, offering stunning views from a number of vantage points along the way.
I found this particular beach by walking to the coast along a track beside Cole Creek, a short distance from Knight’s Point. I had not been to this part of the coastline before so I did not know what I would find, or whether I would even take any photographs, but I figured it was worth an exploratory walk anyway.
It was an unsettled, cold winter’s day. Showers came and went on a light, salty breeze from the sea; between bursts of rain a low, pale sun did its best to dry off the moisture before the next lot came in. Turning south upon reaching the beach, I crunched my way over the coarse, shiny beach gravel for perhaps an hour, all the time getting closer to a cluster of rock stacks that stood sharp and clear against a threatening sky.
Rounding an adjacent headland, I found myself surrounded by several large towers of dark, brooding rock; it was here that I decided it was probably a good time to get the camera out of my backpack. This image is memorable for me because this beach was not just a surprise ‘discovery’, but getting the photograph was also quite literally a race against the incoming tide, and incoming bad weather – both conveyed in the photograph by the motion of the waves rushing in to the beach, and the darkening sky to the northwest.
