I have always been fascinated by the patterns that streams make when they flow across sandy beaches at low tide. In my childhood I spent many summer holidays at the family beach house in Taranaki, near which a small stream would fan out across the beach when the tide went out, to form a network of braided channels that were always changing and always intriguing to explore.
From those early days as a kid I have held onto that fascination, and even now I still find enjoyment in standing next to a stream on a beach somewhere and watching how the flow of water continuously shapes the sand as it makes its way down to the sea. Little channels forming, splitting, dissipating, being abandoned as the stream switches course before slowly meandering back to re-work the same spot over again into a new channel – it’s the kind of stuff I can quite happily sit and watch for hours.
Isas Stream flows out from pristine coastal podocarp forest at the eastern end of Tautuku Bay in The Catlins, and during a stay at nearby Papatowai I had the opportunity to come here at sunrise one morning and spend some time exploring the beach. I didn’t get far beyond this spot, however, ending up spending most of my time watching and photographing this little stream as it carved out its unique signature on the beach before the next tide came in.
