Summer is rock climbing season in the Darran Mountains, just east of Milford Sound. Some climbers make an annual pilgrimage to the area to climb the amazing granite walls in the valleys while they are free of snow.

This area gets lots of rain and even snow in January, but when the sun comes out it completely changes the character of the place. When the sun comes down in to the steep valleys the light has an amazing quality and there is no better place to be.

On the day this photo was taken the sun was out after a week of solid rain and we'd been climbing all day in the warmth. After so much rain the sunlight gave us a sense of euphoria and when we finished climbing in the late afternoon, there was no option but to swim and bomb away in the nearby Cleddau River. 

This river runs from Homer Tunnel down the steep Cleddau Valley and comes out in to the sea at Milford Sound in Deep Water Basin.

Bombing in the photo is Derek Thatcher, a schoolteacher from Christchurch and one of the country's top rock climbers.

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