August 19th 2025: End-to-end

Right now I'm in the mountains near Queenstown waiting for a significant snowfall that I was hoping to show you. However, it has been delayed. So I've been photographing the mountains as I always do when I get here – that feeling of amazement never dulls for me. A bit like the ocean, I find the mountains ever changing with the light, the peppering of snowfall, and the seasons.

But my story today is not about this buzzy little town, but the other end of these Southern Alps where they dive back into the earth at the Wairarapa Coast in the North Island.

Just north of Matakitakiakupe (Cape Palliser) lies some of the most unusual coastline in New Zealand. Formed by the constantly eroding mountains, the coast features a slow-moving desert scape of grey rock. It looks and feels like you're on the moon. If they did fake the moon landing then it would have been filmed here. In its northernmost reaches the desert gives way to a rocky point break and a finger of reef that holds some of the best lefts and rights in New Zealand. During my uni years at Massey, I spent way more time than I should have surfing this coastline and exploring the nooks and crannies along the way. 

So it came as a bit of a shock to learn that the South Wairarapa District Council is proposing a bylaw that would ban all public access – even on foot – to a public road leading into the southern end of the Wairarapa coastline for a period of at least three years.

There are a lot of stakeholders behind this proposal and it isn't a simple set of circumstances. However, using a bylaw to close an unformed paper road is a blatant overreach, when the intention is really to protect environmentally fragile and culturally significant areas of the coast. You can read the full story here on NZ Surf Journal with a response from a long-time Wairarapa surfer turned town planner, Nigel Bryce.

If the bylaw was to pass then it would set a very concerning precedent for other coastlines facing similar issues with coast users who do not always show respect to the land they cross and recreate in. 

Submissions closed yesterday. At last count we were up to 3279 submissions – thank you to everyone who responded. We'll keep you posted on how this plays out. 

See you at the beach, Derek

PS We've had such a great response to our offer to hang framed artworks bought from our Box of Light gallery that we have decided to extend the offer into September. The deal is, buy a framed artwork from our limited edition series and, as long as you live in Otago, we'll hang it for you for free. If you're not quite ready for us to hang one by September that's okay – as long as you make your purchase before the end of September we can hang it whenever suits you. Some of our favourites are very close to their 10 edition limit, so get in quick.