East Branch Track

Drawn after walking the East Branch Track - this piece captures the textures and movement that define Fiordland’s wilderness.

The East Branch Track in Fiordland is a place you can’t ignore. Every step brings a new challenge with steep gullies to navigate, rocks to balance on and streams to cross. The changing terrain feels like nature telling its own story. That raw complexity drew me in and became the heart of my ink drawing, where I aimed to capture the way the landscape shapes both art and experience.

For me the track is more than a hiking trail. It is a living ecosystem full of contrasts between light and shadow, soft mossy banks and hard rocky outcrops, chaos in tumbling water and calm in hidden pools.

As I made my way along the trail I found the textures of Fiordland matched the textures I love to draw. Deep slippery gullies gave way to dense shadowed forest and clear fast streams. Sunlight filtering through the canopy created pockets of brightness that brought the scene to life. The calls of kaka echoed overhead and their playful flights reminded me why these forests matter so much.

My background in conservation biology and lifelong passion for nature drive my work. I want to slow down time in my drawings so viewers notice what we often miss in the rush of a hike. By focusing on quiet details, a patch of ferns, the curve of a fallen log, the ripple of water over stones, I invite people to connect more deeply with the wild places around us.

With my East Branch Track drawing I aimed to show both the challenge in the terrain and the peace that comes from spending time in Fiordland’s untamed beauty. I hope it encourages you to look closer at the world and find your own moments of wonder.