New Zealand: Tunnel Beach
Down and down and down on February 26th went the path from the carpark toward Tunnel Beach a few miles outside of Dunedin. Eventually the trail got to the level of the upper surface of a rocky promontory. A side trail through a tunnel excavated in the 1870s allowed further descent to sea level, where I reveled in this view of the promontory’s eastern wall.
© 2017 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
And I like the sheen on the water, too.
Gallivanta
April 4, 2017 at 5:22 AM
That’s what makes the picture special for me, too.
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 8:00 AM
By the way, I forgot to ask whether you ever visited Tunnel Beach when you lived in Dunedin. From what I’ve read online, I have the impression it may not have been open to the public back then.
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 9:47 AM
No, I haven’t visited Tunnel Beach. In fact I didn’t even know about until quite recently.
Gallivanta
April 5, 2017 at 6:28 AM
Then you have one more reason to visit Dunedin again.
Steve Schwartzman
April 5, 2017 at 6:32 AM
Indeed I do.
Gallivanta
April 5, 2017 at 6:37 AM
The reflected light is wonderful.
Ed Lehming Photography
April 4, 2017 at 6:22 AM
Agreed. That’s why I like this view more than some others I made of the rock.
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 8:01 AM
That’s pretty cool. How was the going back up?
Heyjude
April 4, 2017 at 7:33 AM
You seem to have read my mind. The going back up was strenuous and brought on some huffing and puffing. The following week we hiked to another coastal rock and also had a long climb back up.
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 8:05 AM
That’s the trouble with ‘downs’ there is always a corresponding ‘up’ somewhere along the way 😉
(Actually where we live are called Downs and they are always the highest part of a place – I wonder why that is? )
Heyjude
April 4, 2017 at 8:32 AM
I think this is a case of what I call the duality principle. The Old English ancestor of down was dūn, which meant ‘hill.’ When you’re at the top of a hill, there’s nowhere to go but down. The American Heritage Dictionary defines downs as ‘An expanse of rolling upland’. The words dune and town are also relatives.
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 8:54 AM
I knew I could rely on you to explain it – thanks Steve, you are a gem 🙂
Heyjude
April 4, 2017 at 9:03 AM
Yeah, you could say I’m a budding linguist (our word gem comes from Latin gemma, which meant ‘bud’).
Steve Schwartzman
April 4, 2017 at 9:48 AM
😀
Heyjude
April 4, 2017 at 11:36 AM
I’ve come across two women named Gemma recently. I’d never heard the name before, and thought it might be a nickname. Now, I suspect it’s a given name. I’ll have to ask them.
shoreacres
April 5, 2017 at 5:14 PM
Gemma is included in A Dictionary of First Names, where it’s identified as a first name in English, Irish, and Italian, taken from Latin.
Steve Schwartzman
April 5, 2017 at 6:19 PM
[…] looks in the opposite direction from the one in yesterday’s view revealed colors in the mosses, minerals, and lichens near the base of the cliffs at Tunnel Beach on […]
New Zealand: the colors on the cliffs at Tunnel Beach | Portraits of Wildflowers
April 5, 2017 at 5:06 AM
One of the finest Picture i have ever seen. Excellent Work. As an Photographer i can understand how much efforts are needed to capture Nature in our pictures. Appreciate Your Efforts and Hard Work
Nitin Khanna
April 5, 2017 at 8:18 AM
Thanks for your comment. In this case the most difficult part of taking the picture was walking all the way back up to where the car was parked.
Steve Schwartzman
April 5, 2017 at 8:25 AM
This is the first time I’ve heard of a spot being closed for lambing season. It reminded me of what you said about there being so many sheep in NZ. The way the smooth reflection’s rippled by the water really adds to the image. As for the water itself, I can imagine it tickling the feet of the rock.
shoreacres
April 5, 2017 at 5:24 PM
February is the latter part of summer in NZ, so fortunately it wasn’t lambing season when we visited.
I’m with you on the way the rippled reflection enhances the image. I was happy to find that combination.
Steve Schwartzman
April 5, 2017 at 6:23 PM
Wow Steve what a shot! Just love it ..
Julie@frogpondfarm
April 8, 2017 at 1:08 AM
It’s one more place you can add to your list to visit.
Steve Schwartzman
April 8, 2017 at 5:20 AM