Part of the "quaint-ness" I love about New Zealand is the fact that there are parts of the country that almost make you feel like you're going back in time. Rush hour on the East Coast is just one of those places!
Heading over the bridge on state highway 35 on the way to Te Araroa, we were stopped to allow horses to cross the bridge then continue their way across paddocks to.... who knows where!
It did require some patience, but then when you have all day to get somewhere, time doesn't really matter and you actually see more (and are more present) than if you were in a rush to get somewhere by a certain time.
I had all the time in the world to grab my camera, compose, wait then shoot when I felt the time was right.
There is a lot going on here... centre point of course is the horse perpendicular to the flow of traffic, meaning everything stopped to wait. The lady on the horse on the left with the red hair and top contrasted nicely with the green background, the remote Summer wilderness is there for all to enjoy, and the local iwi were represented with one from the fleet in the oncoming traffic.
I actually love this shot, it really is a back country New Zealand that most will never see unless they really travel to the far flung (harder to get to) regions, and are prepared to "go back in time", maybe rough it a bit, and connect with the locals.
Click the image to be taken to the NZphotobook gallery to see more curated images.