At Ship Creek, just a few kilometers north of Haast, in South Westland, New Zealand, there is a wonderful boardwalk though an original swamp forest (It’s less than 3 km south of Coal Creek – where I found my first plant fossils, aged nine). The key tree is kahikatea (Dacrycarpus) and the walk features a… Continue reading Tropical Rainforest in …. South Westland?
Tag: New Zealand
Supplejack – a survivor from the Miocene in New Zealand
The first time I ever slept-out (sleeping bag, no tent), I was about four years old, and the place was an idyllic spot on the banks of Pipson Creek, just outside of Makarora. Its on the road to the West Coast from Wanaka/Hawea. One of my memories of that family holiday was swinging on a… Continue reading Supplejack – a survivor from the Miocene in New Zealand
The Kai Point Coal Mine – Late Cretaceous vegetation treasure-trove
The lowlands south of Dunedin (New Zealand), used to be almost impassable wetlands. The local Maoris were incredulous when the first Western explorers of the mid 19th century insisted on making their way tediously directly through it. There were other routes south. The wetlands were a mixture of flax, raupo, sedges, and some small patches… Continue reading The Kai Point Coal Mine – Late Cretaceous vegetation treasure-trove
Eucalyptus fossils in New Zealand – the thin end of the wedge
Eucalyptus (aka ‘gum-tree’) is the quintessential Australian tree. There are about 700 species of them today (depending on who you ask), all of them restricted to Australia, except for a couple that are in New Guinea. They range from cold mountains in Tasmania and Victoria, to tropical lowlands of the Northern Territory. They are in the… Continue reading Eucalyptus fossils in New Zealand – the thin end of the wedge
Four Degrees of Climate Change in New Zealand – should we care?
New Zealand might be a relatively lucky position as regards global warming. We mostly have a moderate, ‘maritime’ climate. Not too hot, too dry, and except for the dirty dribbles of ice we make so much of, no ice-sheets to melt. We’re not like Australia, where the ‘normal’ run of extreme heat, drought, and fire is… Continue reading Four Degrees of Climate Change in New Zealand – should we care?
New Zealand, Middle-earth and Reality
There was a time when I threatened myself to start teaching the ecology of Middle-earth. I helped take a couple of trips taking American university students around New Zealand. It was an amazing itinerary, but it came with a strong feeling that my students were far more interested in where scenes from ‘Lord of the… Continue reading New Zealand, Middle-earth and Reality
The Marshall Paraconformity – a 30 year geological debate in New Zealand
Cut back to the late 1970s – I was a schoolboy and had found my way into the Burnside Marl Pit, Dunedin (southern New Zealand) and up to the unit of greensand that is exposed on the hill side at the far end. Greensand is an accumulation of grains of the mineral glauconite. This green… Continue reading The Marshall Paraconformity – a 30 year geological debate in New Zealand
Flooded Forests: sea-level rise in the Haast, West Coast, New Zealand
I own a little patch of bush in the Haast, on the wet, West Coast of New Zealand. It was selectively logged a few decades ago, which meant that the large podocarp trees were removed. It then became the edge of what was left of the forest, and farmland. I bought it with the intention… Continue reading Flooded Forests: sea-level rise in the Haast, West Coast, New Zealand
Cladophlebis – New Zealand’s Mesozoic Weed
The fern Cladophlebis is probably the single-most common plant fossil in the New Zealand Jurassic. It’s present in virtually every plant fossil site of that age (see the Featured Image of this post), so much so that Mildenhall (1974) referred to it as ‘Mesozoic weed’. When New Zealanders talk about ‘fern rock’, it’s a good… Continue reading Cladophlebis – New Zealand’s Mesozoic Weed
Is New Zealand in the Anthropocene?
Has New Zealand recently entered an entirely new period of time? You may have caught up with the proposal that the world is now in a new era of time – the Anthropocene. Geologists have previously told us that we lived in the period called the Holocene. This is generally agreed to have begun 11,700… Continue reading Is New Zealand in the Anthropocene?