The storm was vicious. It pounded the mighty ranges with gusto, scraping muddy debris off the mountains into the pristine waters of Lake Rotoiti. It signed off its passing with a murky stain still visible on the edge of the image.

The calamity rattled a few feathers, literally, including the ones belonging to a little mysterious visitor who made Nelson Lakes National Park its home. A rather curious aberration for a country with a stringent biosecurity system in place.

The Mandarin duck, a native of East Asia, has been a resident for a while and turned into an attraction for tourists and locals alike. They affectionately named him Alphonso, I believe, as the most common Chinese name they could think of.

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D7100
Exposure:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture:	f/11.0
ISO Speed:	200
Focal Length:	12 mm
Lens:	11.0-16.0 mm f/2.8