Rime Frost

Photographers all around the world know this moment. The moment when you round a corner, crest a hill or in this case run down the road when you hear your mate call "come see this". That moment when the rest of the world sleeps, and nature shows her beauty to the few that make the effort. That moment you just stop and stare, take in the experience and then try to capture it in a way that can pass on the moment to others. It's one of the privileges of enjoying photography.

“Knowing what it was and experiencing it are two different things. To see icicles grow in front of your eyes, to feel the ice touch any exposed skin. ”

In this case, I noticed in the weather forecast on windy.com, that patches of the lower central north Island was due to have fog on Sunday. That caught my attention. On closer inspection I could see that the Whanganui river valleys would be the best chance. As I scrolled through the timeline I saw a hint of blue in the fog forecast. Windy uses a blue colour when Rime is forecast... Rime is not common around here so now I was keen. A few messages to people and soon there was five of us making plans.

Wait, what's Rime.....Rime ice forms when supercooled water liquid droplets freeze onto surfaces. In this case the water in the ice cold fog being blown down the river valley from the central plateau.

Knowing what it was and experiencing it are two different things. To see icicles grow in front of your eyes, to feel the ice touch any exposed skin. The fog and mist that came with it was amazing, fog normally hangs in the still air, but not today, it swirled in the wind.

As soon as the mist and fog arrived, it also left. The sun broke through the clouds and then a new sound filled the valley. The sound of ice cracking, falling from the trees. What a privilege it was to be there and experience this natural wonder.