Donald Lousley is a well-known local figure. You might know him as the photographer, the computer guy, the SAR person, or from a myriad of other things that he’s done in the time he’s lived here.

Donald first moved to Wanaka in 1982 when his then-wife got a teaching position here. But Donald was already familiar with the town, as he’d visited with family during his upbringing in North Otago.

The changes of the seasons, and the opportunity each of them brings for Donald’s many hobbies, are some of the reasons he still calls Wanaka home.

"I love how it merges into spring and you can go for walks and go mountain biking,” Donald said. In winter, there’s cross country skiing, which Donald does whenever he can. And in between there’s blogging, writing, photography, and whatever else he might be into at any given time.

His career has been as diverse as his interests - he’s helped geophysics scientists create significant shock waves with explosives in Antarctica, advised trampers, climbers and tourists at Mount Aspiring Hut, and worked as a mountain guide during the early days of heli-skiing. His first ever career was as a tradesman - there’s been too much in between to list them all - and now Donald continues to do computer and website maintenance for a small-ish number of clients.

The best place to go to better get to know Donald - aside from meeting him of course - is by visiting his blog, Southern Light.

It’s here that one can get a sense of Donald’s love for the outdoors. Described as "a richly illustrated eco initiative featuring nature’s wonders in southern New Zealand”, it’s a chronicle of Donald’s many discoveries and lessons in this corner of the world. Other people also contribute to Southern Light, but it mainly illustrates Donald’s encyclopedic knowledge of off-the-beaten-track New Zealand.

Readers of Southern Light get a glance at many beautiful and remote parts of New Zealand, but Donald knows where his favourite is without giving it a second thought. "The Otago valleys. They have the combination of river, mountain, beech forest and glacier.”

The furthest from civilisation Donald has been is Antarctica, when he spent four months helping scientists profile an area adjacent to the Transantarctic Mountains to successfully find out why the longest mountain range in the world "popped up” where two of the earth's tectonic plates pulled apart.

Donald would help not only maintain a shifting camp over serious glacial terrain, but also drill holes with hot water, then place and detonate the high explosives at a couple of hundred metre intervals over a distance of approximately 140km to gather the data needed.

Wildlife mostly eluded him on the seismic line known as "deep, deep field” in Antarctica. He saw only one skua ("a very aggressive gull”) over the 44 day period it took to conduct the main activities of the experiment.

Donald returned to Wanaka, and "didn’t want to see any snow for two years”.

The next job for him was being a Dad. His son Dougal, now 25, lives in Dunedin. Donald says parenting was the best job he ever had. "It was so rewarding, but hard work.”

He shared his knowledge and passion for the outdoors with Dougal, taking him on various trips as a boy. Dougal earns a special mention on Southern Light, and a recent photo shows them adventuring together at Jackson Bay on the West Coast.

Donald captures the summer "chop” on Lake Wanaka from the prevailing north west winds in summer PHOTO: Donald Lousley.

Donald - who is a kind yet fairly reserved character - bravely decided recently to weigh in on a 1080 debate on local social media page recently. It’s a subject that has earned a vitriolic following from the fringes.

"I went away from targeting people,” Donald said. "We don’t have a choice: you vote for vermin or birds.”

He invited people wanting to learn more to speak with him directly, and offered to connect people who wanted to make a difference with the relevant groups.

"I've learnt a considerable amount living in the midst of full-blown predator control and bird monitoring,” Donald said.

It’s another career among many that Donald has fitted into his life - he’s also been a part of Search and Rescue, and a geophysics field assistant in Central Otago, mapping fault lines and deep alluvial gravels/rock.

The interest in landscape photography makes a lot of sense given his other interests, and it’s something he began as a young boy. He’s made the shift from film to digital, but unlike many photographers, knows there’s a time to put the camera away.

"A camera can get between you and the environment. I do want to see what I’m in.”

Donald has a second website dedicated to Wanaka images and photography. It’s more of a look at what urban Wanaka and surrounds has to offer, and showcases his exceptional photography.

Donald has watched Wanaka change and grow over the decades, and his feet are still firmly planted here.

"We’re just so lucky to live in this country.”