“What did the kiwi bloke say while cutting down the last tree in Papanui Bush?” Here, I’m just re-phrasing of the question Jared Diamond wrote in his 2005 book ‘Collapse’. The original question Diamond posed was: “What did the Easter Islander say while cutting down the last palm tree?” Diamond was trying to make a… Continue reading The Last Tree in Papanui Bush. And that last palm tree on Easter Island
Tag: New Zealand
The Ancient Footpath from Otepoti-Dunedin to Moeraki
How old is the oldest cultural feature on Aotearoa-New Zealand? Imagine being around when the only way to get anywhere was to walk or take a waka (canoe). That was New Zealand in pre-European times – there were no pack animals. When settlers arrived in what was to become Dunedin, in 1848, there was no… Continue reading The Ancient Footpath from Otepoti-Dunedin to Moeraki
What’s Happening to New Zealand’s Haast Pass?
It was next morning that I heard the bridge had washed away. I had hammered over it during the night – back in the 90s – a time when you could do a tad over the speed limit on country roads, with reasonable confidence nobody in uniform was waiting somewhere in the murk. On that… Continue reading What’s Happening to New Zealand’s Haast Pass?
Deciduous Conifers in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay
As you pull up in the car park above the fossil forest at Curio Bay (Pole 1999, 2001, 2004, 2009), there is a wonderful patch of living, native forest, just behind. Its conifers, like all New Zealand conifers today, are evergreen. But what of Curio Bay’s forest, back in the Jurassic? The most common type… Continue reading Deciduous Conifers in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay
How Tall were the trees in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay?
At Curio Bay near the southernmost point of New Zealand’’s South Island, you can walk around the remains of a Jurassic fossil forest. Tree stumps are still in their growth position, and fossilised logs criss-cross through the sandstone overlying them. So can we add these pieces of information together – and see what the Curio… Continue reading How Tall were the trees in New Zealand’s Jurassic Fossil Forest at Curio Bay?
When Frequent-Flying Becomes Insane-Flying
I loved my Singapore Airlines ‘Elite Gold’ card. Suddenly, International airports transitioned from being places where food and drink were wildly overpriced, to …. free. When I stuffed-up and missed flights, or political rules changed and I couldn’t board an aircraft – instead of costing hundreds of dollars, the issues were quietly and politely taken… Continue reading When Frequent-Flying Becomes Insane-Flying
The Lost Forests of Southland, New Zealand
Forests that have disappeared so completely that you would hardly believe they really existed, have long fascinated me. When I left my home in Alexandra for university in Dunedin, I took with me a facsimile map my mother had given me. It was a mid 19th century view of the Southland plains, the area sweeping… Continue reading The Lost Forests of Southland, New Zealand
The Biggest Tree Stump in the Curio Bay Jurassic Forest
Back in the late 1980s I had the pleasure of meeting the English scientist David Bellamy. Bellamy was famous at the time as ‘The Botanic Man’, and he was in New Zealand to film for ‘Moa’s Ark’, a TV series and book about the development of New Zealand’s flora and fauna (including the extinct moa birds)… Continue reading The Biggest Tree Stump in the Curio Bay Jurassic Forest
The Amazing Miocene Fossil Leaf Pack of Mata Creek, New Zealand
I was crouched in a long boat somewhere up a rainforest-swathed river in Kalimatan, Borneo, when I saw it – a ‘living’ example of a fossil leaf pack I had once seen in New Zealand. Several years before, I had been exploring down a little stream near St Bathans, New Zealand. I was looking for… Continue reading The Amazing Miocene Fossil Leaf Pack of Mata Creek, New Zealand
Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Early on a cool Sunday morning I sipped my latte outside Relishes Cafe, Wanaka, and thought the immediate view could be better. In a somewhat typical urban New Zealand fashion, the lake is cut off from the cafe not just by a road, but a car park as well. However, the awesome view behind it,… Continue reading Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand