SYD → ZQN

It’s been 3 years since I travelled to the South Island of New Zealand. A lot has changed since the last time I came to this beautiful place. The last time I was here, the global pandemic didn’t happen, the recession was just a rumour, I didn’t know how to drive a car, and for sure 48MP cameras were used by professionals who were shooting magazine portraits and people who had big hard drives, expensive Apple Mac Pros.

In 2019,

• I brought my good old Sony A7ii and a newly purchased lens Sony 24-108 F4

• I was shooting some videos for fun with my iPhone XS. A pretty sleek phone that had a 12mp sensor, half of what my camera had it. Naturally, I was not shooting anything important with that camera, just some videos and memories

In 2022,

• I brought my new Sony A7c and my 3-year-old lens, Sony 24-108 F4.

• I also brought my new iPhone 14 Pro. Oh it comes with a camera sensor that’s twice my main sony camera, a whooping 48 megapixels

But the question remained in my mind for so long —

My fun photos from my iPhone just go to my Instagram stories or just sit in my gallery, occasionally shared with my friends and family

Enroute to Rob Roy’s Glacier

Mt Aspiring is one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on the southern island of New Zealand. Rob Roy’s is an impressive hanging glacier that’s resting on the top of the mountains. Accessible via the Matukituki Valley and a six-hour hike, Rob Roy’s Glacier is an amazing sight to behold. The view from the top of the glacier is awe-inspiring, with incredible blue ice and snow-covered slopes. The area surrounding the glacier is untouched wilderness and you can feel a true sense of solace there. Along the path, you’ll get up close and personal with the native beech and other trees, energy-giving ferns, and the iconic, tall, slender red tōtara trees

Now, this might sound like I know already about the hike and how beautiful it could be before the hike, but don’t let my introduction fool you. This was not a hike I had planned and my partner planned it as a good surprise for me. I didn’t read much about how to access the glacier or read reviews about the hike difficulty. I turned 31 that day and I was treated to absolutely stunning views.

While driving towards the walk, we quickly realised something about the roads seems off — 50kms for 1hr sounds not right for a highway. Only halfway through I remembered vaguely reading that there will be 30 km of gravel road and almost 10 km of roads filled with fords, i.e water running through the road and you should be comfortable driving inside them. Halfway through gravel roads we also lost internet and we are officially off the grid. This also accidentally cut off my family from being able to reach out to me (I turned 31 that day).

The Hike

It was pretty late in the afternoon and the bright day was starting to be overshadowed by some dark clouds near the mountains. We quickly realised the hike was not easy and it was easy to medium. To make it even worse for the first 30mins during the hike, we only saw people returning and we weren’t sure we can do this hike this late in the afternoon. We were so determined to take any of these signals to turn back. After all, I haven’t even tested my iPhone against the camera yet — I’ll get to that soon, but you can also jump to the photos below and get started.

The hike itself is a beautiful path through a rope bridge, a small meadow and a huge forest walk right up to the top. It was slightly steep in the middle and towards the end, but otherwise a medium-grade track, and definitely not an easy one as my partner thought. She hadn’t done hikes in a while and her legs had cramped up occasionally in the past. Amidst all the odds and all the cramps she pushed through and we actually made it through the end.

Shot on iPhone

There were many times when I couldn’t quite believe my eyes at the pictures my iPhone captured. So, I had to double-check by opening it in a photo editor and inspecting every detail. I mean, the camera on this thing is so good, it’s almost like the phone itself can’t keep up and occasionally shows a blurry preview in the photos app, but in reality, it’s sharper than a razor blade on steroids.

Here are a few samples and zoomed previews…