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United Kingdom

The Moor

Downtown pedestrian mall, Sheffield.

Mark WatsonNovember 17, 2010

Thanks for visiting the blog of Mark Watson & Highlux Photography. Here, you can find the full account of our Alaska to Patagonia (2016–2020, 2022–2023) bikepacking journey, as well as our New Zealand adventures.

Alaska – Ushuaia Route Map.

Donate to Mark & Hana's Expedition Fund

@highluxphoto

Day 4/9: 400 vertical metres of scree sliding drop

Day 4/9: 400 vertical metres of scree sliding dropped us quickly out of the freezing wind and into the relative shelter of the Mungo Valley. After a second lunch we picked our way down through myriad boulders; skipping along the tops, squirming between and sliding down on our bums. As the valley closed in steeply we sometimes found the easiest line in the ever growing river itself - always looking for the line of least resistance and maximum flow.

#trampingnzstyle #tramping #nztramper #hiking #hikingnewzealand #mungovalley #adventuresinnz

Day 4/9: Crossing Hokitika Saddle. During the nigh

Day 4/9: Crossing Hokitika Saddle. During the night we were woken by pouring rain and the sound of rocks being tumbled downstream but as we left camp the rain eased. We followed the bouldery riverbank upstream for a few hours and ate lunch at the base of the pass, the water courses still running high and white. Hands full of snow grass or tentatively gripping choss, we gained steady height, only to be battered by a squall of hail and sleet. Topping out into a freezing wind we didn't linger, as we searched for the descent into the upper Mungo.

#trampingstories #tramping #hokitikasaddle #maindivide #hikingadventures #hikingnewzealand #nztramper #nztramping

Day 3/9: Urquharts Hut, Wilberforce Valley. A clas

Day 3/9: Urquharts Hut, Wilberforce Valley. A classic old musterers' hut built in 1933. We just took a quick pit stop here before continuing past the Wilberforce-Griffiths confluence to camp a little closer to the next day's objective: Hokitika Saddle.

#musterershut #urquhartshut #shelterfromthestorm #trampingnewzealand #hikingnewzealand #trampingnzstyle #tramping #backcountrynz

Day 3/9: With the heavy rain overnight at Park Mor

Day 3/9: With the heavy rain overnight at Park Morpeth Hut the rivers rose. We linked up and safely crossed the Wilberforce opposite the hut and travelled downstream in light rain for an hour and a half, but then reached a steep bouldery side stream that was in flood. We probed upstream for a while considering different crossing points, but none were certain. So we pitched Anna and James tent fly for shelter from the wind and drizzle and rested 5 hours, lunching, sleeping and laughing in our warm nylon bubble. In that time the river dropped a foot - enough to confidently cross, and we walked on until nearly dark.

#tramping #nztramping #canterburynz #hikingadventures #hikingnewzealand #trampingstories #trampinginnz

Day 2/9: Watching the rain come in at Park Morpeth

Day 2/9: Watching the rain come in at Park Morpeth Hut, Wilberforce Valley. The second photo (you can just see @beinghana and Anna and James) is the descent from Browning Pass down into the Wilberforce, where we took the shelter of this hut for a night of heavy rain.

#parkmorpethhut #tramping #canterburynz #hikingnewzealand #trampingnewzealand #shelterfromthestorm

Day 2/9: Browning Pass / Noti Raureka, Main Divide

Day 2/9: Browning Pass / Noti Raureka, Main Divide, Southern Alps. We crossed this pass on day two of the trip. The original plan had been to camp here, but with severe gale winds and heavy rain forecast we decided to continue down to the Wilberforce Valley and Park Morpeth Hut for the night. This was my first time crossing Browning Pass and it was good to appreciate this historic location on a fine day. Although exposed, the pass was long used my Maori for pounamu trade, and later as a stock driving route to supply the West Coast gold rush. It was even considered for a coast to coast road, but this was abandoned in favour of Arthur's Pass.

#browningpass #notiraureka #tramping #trampnz #hikingnewzealand #southernalps #newzealandadventures #explorenz🇳🇿

Day 1/9: East and West, Styx Saddle, Central Wesla

Day 1/9: East and West, Styx Saddle, Central Wesland. We stopped to camp here at dusk, pitching the tents among thick tussock and listened to the calls of weka and kea as we cooked dinner. A great first night in the hills.

#tramping #hokitikacatchments #centralwestland #lightandlandscape #hiking #trampingnz #explorenz🇳🇿

Day 1/9: Day one scenes from our Easter Annual Tra

Day 1/9: Day one scenes from our Easter Annual Tramp aka EAT! This was a 9-day journey from the Styx River to the Whitcombe River taking in one of the least visited huts in New Zealand, along with a couple of crossings of the Main Divide. We started at lunchtime on day one and walked up the Styx Valley to Styx Saddle, where we camped. The full story is on the blog, link in bio.

#tramping #hikingadventures #hikinginnewzealand #hokitikacatchments #southernalpsnz

Here's a few more shots from an excellent weekend

Here's a few more shots from an excellent weekend spent riding on the Rollesby Range, right on the edge of the Mackenzie Basin. See my previous post for more...
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.
.
#mackenziebasin #mountainbiking #explorebybicycle #mountainbikeride #mountainbikers #nzmountainbiking #newzealandadventures

We struck gold with the weather last weekend for a

We struck gold with the weather last weekend for a couple of forays onto the Rollesby Range, high above the Mackenzie Basin. Courtesy of Bauchops Hill Station two days were spent riding farm and 4WD tracks. The highlight was a Saturday afternoon skyline ride along the crest of range, with epic views of one of New Zealand's most iconic landscapes, including Aoraki Mount Cook and other prominent peaks of the Southern Alps. On Sunday we rode a steep 800m back up there again because we could not get enough of the view, oh and the downhill was pretty damn good too ⚡Can't beat good weather in the hills with a great crew.
.
.
.
#mountainbiking #mountainbikeride #rollesbyrange #mackenziebasin #southislandhighcountry #southernalps #cyclingnz

Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina 🇦🇷

#beaglechannel #tierradelfuego #argentina_ig #patagonia #ushuaia

A humpback whale blowing and breaching in the Beag

A humpback whale blowing and breaching in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego 🐳

It's hard to believe it's nearly a year since I took these photos on a day trip on the Beagle Channel. The day before it had stormed and snowed right down to city level in Ushuaia, so we got lucky with a clear day this day - our last in South America before the long journey home to New Zealand.

#spermwhale #beaglechannel #ushuaia #tierradelfuego #southerncone #patagoniafantastica #patagoniatravel #explorepatagonia

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Recent Posts

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Day 4/9: 400 vertical metres of scree sliding drop

Day 4/9: 400 vertical metres of scree sliding dropped us quickly out of the freezing wind and into the relative shelter of the Mungo Valley. After a second lunch we picked our way down through myriad boulders; skipping along the tops, squirming between and sliding down on our bums. As the valley closed in steeply we sometimes found the easiest line in the ever growing river itself - always looking for the line of least resistance and maximum flow.

#trampingnzstyle #tramping #nztramper #hiking #hikingnewzealand #mungovalley #adventuresinnz

Day 4/9: Crossing Hokitika Saddle. During the nigh

Day 4/9: Crossing Hokitika Saddle. During the night we were woken by pouring rain and the sound of rocks being tumbled downstream but as we left camp the rain eased. We followed the bouldery riverbank upstream for a few hours and ate lunch at the base of the pass, the water courses still running high and white. Hands full of snow grass or tentatively gripping choss, we gained steady height, only to be battered by a squall of hail and sleet. Topping out into a freezing wind we didn't linger, as we searched for the descent into the upper Mungo.

#trampingstories #tramping #hokitikasaddle #maindivide #hikingadventures #hikingnewzealand #nztramper #nztramping

Day 3/9: Urquharts Hut, Wilberforce Valley. A clas

Day 3/9: Urquharts Hut, Wilberforce Valley. A classic old musterers' hut built in 1933. We just took a quick pit stop here before continuing past the Wilberforce-Griffiths confluence to camp a little closer to the next day's objective: Hokitika Saddle.

#musterershut #urquhartshut #shelterfromthestorm #trampingnewzealand #hikingnewzealand #trampingnzstyle #tramping #backcountrynz

Day 3/9: With the heavy rain overnight at Park Mor

Day 3/9: With the heavy rain overnight at Park Morpeth Hut the rivers rose. We linked up and safely crossed the Wilberforce opposite the hut and travelled downstream in light rain for an hour and a half, but then reached a steep bouldery side stream that was in flood. We probed upstream for a while considering different crossing points, but none were certain. So we pitched Anna and James tent fly for shelter from the wind and drizzle and rested 5 hours, lunching, sleeping and laughing in our warm nylon bubble. In that time the river dropped a foot - enough to confidently cross, and we walked on until nearly dark.

#tramping #nztramping #canterburynz #hikingadventures #hikingnewzealand #trampingstories #trampinginnz

Day 2/9: Watching the rain come in at Park Morpeth

Day 2/9: Watching the rain come in at Park Morpeth Hut, Wilberforce Valley. The second photo (you can just see @beinghana and Anna and James) is the descent from Browning Pass down into the Wilberforce, where we took the shelter of this hut for a night of heavy rain.

#parkmorpethhut #tramping #canterburynz #hikingnewzealand #trampingnewzealand #shelterfromthestorm

Day 2/9: Browning Pass / Noti Raureka, Main Divide

Day 2/9: Browning Pass / Noti Raureka, Main Divide, Southern Alps. We crossed this pass on day two of the trip. The original plan had been to camp here, but with severe gale winds and heavy rain forecast we decided to continue down to the Wilberforce Valley and Park Morpeth Hut for the night. This was my first time crossing Browning Pass and it was good to appreciate this historic location on a fine day. Although exposed, the pass was long used my Maori for pounamu trade, and later as a stock driving route to supply the West Coast gold rush. It was even considered for a coast to coast road, but this was abandoned in favour of Arthur's Pass.

#browningpass #notiraureka #tramping #trampnz #hikingnewzealand #southernalps #newzealandadventures #explorenz🇳🇿

Day 1/9: East and West, Styx Saddle, Central Wesla

Day 1/9: East and West, Styx Saddle, Central Wesland. We stopped to camp here at dusk, pitching the tents among thick tussock and listened to the calls of weka and kea as we cooked dinner. A great first night in the hills.

#tramping #hokitikacatchments #centralwestland #lightandlandscape #hiking #trampingnz #explorenz🇳🇿

Day 1/9: Day one scenes from our Easter Annual Tra

Day 1/9: Day one scenes from our Easter Annual Tramp aka EAT! This was a 9-day journey from the Styx River to the Whitcombe River taking in one of the least visited huts in New Zealand, along with a couple of crossings of the Main Divide. We started at lunchtime on day one and walked up the Styx Valley to Styx Saddle, where we camped. The full story is on the blog, link in bio.

#tramping #hikingadventures #hikinginnewzealand #hokitikacatchments #southernalpsnz

Here's a few more shots from an excellent weekend

Here's a few more shots from an excellent weekend spent riding on the Rollesby Range, right on the edge of the Mackenzie Basin. See my previous post for more...
.
.
.
#mackenziebasin #mountainbiking #explorebybicycle #mountainbikeride #mountainbikers #nzmountainbiking #newzealandadventures

We struck gold with the weather last weekend for a

We struck gold with the weather last weekend for a couple of forays onto the Rollesby Range, high above the Mackenzie Basin. Courtesy of Bauchops Hill Station two days were spent riding farm and 4WD tracks. The highlight was a Saturday afternoon skyline ride along the crest of range, with epic views of one of New Zealand's most iconic landscapes, including Aoraki Mount Cook and other prominent peaks of the Southern Alps. On Sunday we rode a steep 800m back up there again because we could not get enough of the view, oh and the downhill was pretty damn good too ⚡Can't beat good weather in the hills with a great crew.
.
.
.
#mountainbiking #mountainbikeride #rollesbyrange #mackenziebasin #southislandhighcountry #southernalps #cyclingnz

Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina 🇦🇷

#beaglechannel #tierradelfuego #argentina_ig #patagonia #ushuaia

A humpback whale blowing and breaching in the Beag

A humpback whale blowing and breaching in the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego 🐳

It's hard to believe it's nearly a year since I took these photos on a day trip on the Beagle Channel. The day before it had stormed and snowed right down to city level in Ushuaia, so we got lucky with a clear day this day - our last in South America before the long journey home to New Zealand.

#spermwhale #beaglechannel #ushuaia #tierradelfuego #southerncone #patagoniafantastica #patagoniatravel #explorepatagonia

Follow on Instagram

© 2024 Highlux Photography. Mark Watson

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Blog
Alaska to Patagonia
Countries
- New Zealand
- North America
  - Canada
  - Mexico
  - USA
    - Alaska
    - Arizona
    - California
    - Colorado
    - Idaho
    - Montana
    - New Mexico
    - Wyoming
- Central America
  - Guatemala
  - Belize
  - Honduras
  - Nicaragua
  - Costa Rica
  - Panama
  - Cuba
- South America
  - Colombia
  - Ecuador
  - Peru
  - Bolivia
  - Chile
  - Argentina
- China
- South East Asia
  - Cambodia
  - Laos
  - Malaysia
  - Thailand
  - Vietnam
- Europe
- United Kingdom
Bikepacking Info
Explore
Portfolio
Books

About Highluxphoto
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