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One of my favourite places in New Zealand is the small village of Kaikoura on the East Coast of the South Island. This tranquil, peaceful fishing village has simply the most stunning and spectacular sunrises I have ever experienced. Set against the Southern Alps Kaikoura offers not only amazing opportunities for landscape photography, but also Sperm whale, Sea Lion and Dolphin photography; all of which are quite accessible by local charter.  If you have ever seen the 1983 Scottish film Local Hero and can remember the small fishing village in which it is set, then you have a pretty good idea of what Kaikoura is like (at least that is the feeling and memory I have from the place).

This photograph was taken seconds before sunrise and includes the Southern Alps in the background with the amazing North Western Arch cloud formation brilliantly lit with dawn colour – that colour is real! Lenticular clouds, formed by high winds are just hovering over the distant peaks. In a large print you can clearly see the spindrift coming off the tops of the peaks and the ocean spray on the horizon.