Frozen Morning in Middle Earth

The alarm went off early again this morning, but rather than spring out of bed, I reluctantly left the comfort of the duvet; I've had a cold brewing for the last day or so (thanks Mrs H!) so wasn't feeling that great. Also I knew that it was going to be a frosty morning, so I was going to have to wrap up warm.

I was not wrong. As I de-iced the car, it did go through my mind that I could just go back to bed and head out again later. But, I'd already made my mind up to head up the gorge once more to see the first light on the hills.

And what a sight. By the time I reached this spot at Whiterock Station, the sun's rays were starting to fall on the Two Thumb Range at the head of the valley. It's in light like this that you can understand why this part of the world was chosen for some of the locations of the LOTR trilogy.

The breathtaking view was only matched by the temperature when I captured this scene; a chilling -6ºC. Brrrrr

Check out the extra photos for some more shots of the Rangitata Valley; the dawn view towards the Moorhouse and Harper ranges, deer on the Waikari hills and a close up of the split peaks of The Thumbs, towering 2546m over Mesopotamia Station at the head of the valley.