Get the Latest News!

Subscribe to receive studio updates, when a new article is published, notifications for new print releases and the occasional giveaway.
News

St James

June 01, 2024

St James
Recently we decided to explore the St James area from the Hammer Springs end. It had been on the list for a while, the weather was not looking the best, but there was a small window between windy fronts also it was the last chance of the season for 4WD access. The opportunity to 4WD in made it so much easier to bring the kids along and explore further back into the area. We started exploring the Edwards river end, with a fresh dusting of snow on the tops that melted quickly, and while it was blowing hard on the tops, the valleys were very sheltered. We wandered around and explored around Charlies Saddle looking over into the expansive Waiau Uwha River. Beautiful country with a lot more scrub and native than the Molesworth.
 The next evening we went over Mailing Pass and woke up with everything frozen solid. As soon as the sun hit and defrosted the mountain bike chains we were off to Lake Guyon. The ground was frozen which made for easy travel, however as the day warmed up the ground became very gluggy and muddy, bikes wheels stopped turning, everything got very glugged up. Bikes were washed, detailers straightened and chains re-lubed at Guyon Hut while lunch was downed. I popped up to Stanley Vale Hut and the Fowlers Pass Track, however intermittent chain-suck cemented my decision to turn back and roll out with the kids to the mailing pass end.
Would recommend walking in the winter or taking lots of repair gear if biking.
 We then headed out Mailing Pass as the sun fell behind the ranges and explored the smattering of tarns on the way out.
 The next day we were greeted with morning snow, so walked up to the Lewis tops on the way home in the Lewis Pass, made a snowman and headed out.
Here are some photos of the area, our trip into Lake Guyon and snowfall to end the adventure.







Also in News

Birdcage Hut
Birdcage Hut

July 25, 2026

At a very early stage is Birdcage Hut, with the first heavy base layers laid down and the initial details emerging.
Situated towards the head of the Cass River near Lake Tekapo Birdcage Hut is nestled against the Haszard Ridge on the valley floor at just under 1100 metres above sea level.
This hut is a derelict one...

Continue Reading

The frozen Molesworth
The frozen Molesworth

July 19, 2026

After this latest snow dump we feel so lucky to have spent time just before it immersing ourselves in the Molesworth. Access in winter can be a challenge, snow and ice on the passes and we just heard that the rivers in Rainbow got blown out after the last rain/snow storm I imagine these are impassable now as they get gauged out very quickly.
It's very cool to see others just as passionate about the area as us - when we turned up it made me laugh to see another ute had skis in the back (although they had biked in) nothing was going to stop them going in! It would have been a very long...

Continue Reading

Detail in the Poolburn Dam painting
Detail in the Poolburn Dam painting

July 05, 2026

I'm getting into the finer detail now on the Poolburn Dam painting. The morning mist rising off the cool water as the sun warmed it was a challenge. It adds a great mood and is only visible for such a short time early in the morning so I really wanted to include this...

Continue Reading