Category: New Zealand landscape

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Totaranui Beach, ten seconds of time.

Totaranui Beach by John Maillard

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Totaranui Beach, ten seconds of time captures ten seconds of time in one photograph.

Totaranui is a 1 km long beach and the site of a large campsite in the Nelson region, New Zealand administered by theDepartment of Conservation (DoC).

It is located in Abel Tasman National Park toward the northern end of the Abel Tasman Track and is often used as a starting or finishing point for the walk.

Originally a farming settlement, the only permanent residents now are DoC staff. However, during summer the population is swollen by up to 1000 campers plus hikers on the track. Water taxi services from Marahau link Totaranui with other localities around the Park coastline, while a road links Totaranui with Takaka via Pigeon Saddle.

Farming ceased after the foundation of the Abel Tasman National Park in 1942 and forest has been allowed to naturally regenerate through manuka and kanuka to its original mix of southern beech and lowland podocarp.

Totaranui is noted for the golden colour of its sand, more intense than other beaches in the Park, the result of a high content of orthoclase minerals in the eroded granite sands of the vicinity.

Print signed by John Maillard on 17x22inch etching paper, with a handling edge.

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Godley Head (Gun Battery), Banks Peninsular

John Maillard
Godley Head is a recreation reserve administered by the Department of Conservation under the Reserves Act 1977. This reserve is a concept of land management that provides the public with the opportunity to observe an active rural situation combined with experiencing recreational activities.
Built in 1939, the Godley Head coastal defence battery is ranked as one of the top ten New Zealand coastal defence heritage sites.

This headland is a breathtaking coastal location, only 50 minutes drive from Cathedral Square, Christchurch. Built in 1939, the fort is ranked in the top ten New Zealand coastal defence heritage sites.

Even before the fort was built, the visual range of the headland was used to guide ships around the peninsula, with the help of the Godley Head light. The lighthouse, built in 1865, had to be moved during WWII to make way for the fort. Please note; public access is not available to the lighthouse in its current location.

In the threatening early years of World War II, Cantabrians were comforted that the long-range guns of the fort ensured their city was not defenceless against a surprise attack. In its heyday, the fort was staffed by over 400 men and women and was a self-contained community.

It closed in 1963 and remaining today are three large gun emplacements, seven military buildings, and other features. A complete WW2 anti-aircraft gun on long-term loan from Ferrymead Trust has been returned to the site.

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latest Landscape, west coast, New Zealand.

Winter sea by John Maillard

This beach is next to the Paparoa National Park, west coast, New Zealand. I was staying in the Eco hotel here, which is on the beach, as the sun went down I couldn’t resist climbing on the rocks and take pictures just before it got dark.

Paparoa National Park is on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in 1987 and encompasses 306 km2. The park ranges from on or near the coastline to the peak of the Paparoa Ranges. A separate section of the park lies to the north and is centered at Ananui Creek.