By the time I arrived at Wanaka, the sun was about to dip behind the mountain range. The Crown Road through Cardrona was closed due to heavy snowfall so the drive to Wanaka from Queenstown added another hour to the otherwise one-hour drive through the Kawerau Gorge.

Like most of the eager photographers there, I hurried to catch a shot of that famous Wanaka tree that stood in the glacial lake. A gentleman approached the water’s edge and contemplated the solitary tree. Then he squatted down perhaps to view it from a different perspective. I was fast losing light and his very action presented me with a terrific point of interest so I was very thankful for having captured that moment.

I imagine that this tree (below) ventured up to the edge of the lake, considered stepping into the water but ultimately decided against it. So it would not be upstaged by its famous cousin, it chose its spot and dug its roots into the beach and now stands unabashed — its sturdy form in full display on the sandy shore of Lake Wanaka.