My new spot, Bawdens Rd overbridge

[hilifta]

Attached is an overview of my new spot. This is looking south, ie, back towards Auckland, about 30km south.
Where the motorway disappears is the low point and the crest is about 100metres behind me.
From first appearing I have about 30 to 35 seconds to prepare. Mty trucks appear to have no problem keeping up with cars and appear to be doing around 90kph going under the bridge.
As I am off work at the moment I intend next week to go up to Johnsons Hill where the two tunnels go underneath. This is the end of the motorway and is about 20kms north of here. It should present some good scenic shots.

And yes as coastie has said, I do have a bit of time to spare right now, and I can't sit home all day. Have to get out for some peace and quiet every now and then.
In 90mins on Mon got 141 shots, and then spent 6hrs there yesterday for another 390 or so.
But one great thing about it is that it is only 7.6kms from my front gate!
When I went up there yesterday it was sunny no clouds but cold (it was 7.30am), I went up over the ridge and it was thick fog. You couldn't even seen to the bottom of the hill, thankfully after about 40mins it started to lift and eventually turned out fantastic.
But I do have to get some trucks that are not container trucks.
I do need to get to South Auckland and get some of the great linehaul trucks coming up from Wellington and the South Island.

So thats it, and I hope this attachment actually attaches.

Rgds/Mike (hilifta)

DSC_0388.JPG

[G6 UXU]

Morning Mike, that looks like a good spot, nothing in the way and very scenic. I am retired now and I can not stay at home, I have to be out and about.

[hilifta]

Other than the drone of the motorway traffic, it is rather peaceful, the mooing of the cows on one side and baa-ing of the sheep on the other, you are spoilt for choice.

The Aussies say we are a nation of s***********s.

[hilifta]

I've tried a couple more spots on the Northern Motorway over the last couple of weeks.
Firstly Lonely Track Rd. This is about 3kms south of Bawdens Rd where the motorway cuts through a high ridge line. Unfortunately the bridge is a bit too high and the shadows linger very long in the morning and in the afternoon on the southbound trucks the sun is right behind them which put the fronts of them in complete shadow.
Lonely Track is the Nthn boundary of Auckland. When you stand on the bridge and look south it is all suburbs and then you look north it is all countryside.
Today I went to Wilks Rd which about 3 kms north of Bawdens Rd.
The motorway here is flat and straight and this causes the biggest problem, the trucks are going as fast as the cars, which means the cars take much longer to overtake and I gave up on so many shots today because of that. At Bawdens they are climbing and cars are past in flash.
Also in the early morning there is a large stand of pine trees on the Sth Eastern side and these cast a large shadow until about 9.30am, a real pest.
Getting shots of southbound trucks is equally frustrating as there are 2 small bushy trees just high enough to cover the southbound lanes and you have to be quick to get shots in between them. You can see by the shot I have uploaded what happens when you miss.
Don't think I 'll go back there again.
Yet to try the Johnson Hill tunnels, about 10kms further north, will look at that next week, but think I'll stick to Bawdens Rd.

Mike

[coastie]

Originally Posted by hilifta

Attached is an overview of my new spot. This is looking south, ie, back towards Auckland, about 30km south.
Where the motorway disappears is the low point and the crest is about 100metres behind me.
From first appearing I have about 30 to 35 seconds to prepare. Mty trucks appear to have no problem keeping up with cars and appear to be doing around 90kph going under the bridge.
As I am off work at the moment I intend next week to go up to Johnsons Hill where the two tunnels go underneath. This is the end of the motorway and is about 20kms north of here. It should present some good scenic shots.

And yes as coastie has said, I do have a bit of time to spare right now, and I can't sit home all day. Have to get out for some peace and quiet every now and then.
In 90mins on Mon got 141 shots, and then spent 6hrs there yesterday for another 390 or so.
But one great thing about it is that it is only 7.6kms from my front gate!
When I went up there yesterday it was sunny no clouds but cold (it was 7.30am), I went up over the ridge and it was thick fog. You couldn't even seen to the bottom of the hill, thankfully after about 40mins it started to lift and eventually turned out fantastic.
But I do have to get some trucks that are not container trucks.
I do need to get to South Auckland and get some of the great linehaul trucks coming up from Wellington and the South Island.

So thats it, and I hope this attachment actually attaches.

Rgds/Mike (hilifta)

Attachment 140

Flippin' heck!! That attached piccy could almost have been taken by Penrhos Beach near the Anglesey Aluminium factory just up the road from here. That's amazing!