Fergus White 2/10/25 Fergus White 2/10/25

Rēkohu

In 2023 I was lucky enough to travel on a trip to the Chatham Islands to collect data for my thesis. Included are some brief descriptions and photographs of the diverse geological features and endemic ecological communties found on Rēkohu.

Fergus White 2/10/25 Fergus White 2/10/25

Aotea by Bicycle

A four night trip circumnavigating Aotea with good friends. We ride the back roads to explore the local geology and ecology on our very first foray into bike packing.

Fergus White 2/10/25 Fergus White 2/10/25

Kumano Kodo - The Nakahechi Route

A popular pilgrimage in the remote countryside of Japan. On this journey we encountered lush forests, friendly critters, welcoming locals, quaint villages, and rich histories.

Fergus White 2/10/25 Fergus White 2/10/25

Ruahine Ranges

A winter mission into the heart of the Ruahine ranges from Renfrew Road to Pourangaki hut and back again.

Logan Drummond 1/20/21 Logan Drummond 1/20/21

Lessons in Shrubbery and Hedging from Belmont

Garden centres and buyers consistently pump a very limited selection of tried and true native species into hedges. Exemplified by the proliferation of Griselinia, Corokia and Pittosporum sp. that make up the leafy walls of our suburbs. There is nothing wrong with these species in themselves, but we are missing out on wonderful array of natives suited to this job.

Logan Drummond 11/19/20 Logan Drummond 11/19/20

Realms of Raukawa

Raukaua anomalus is an a rather anonymous shrub and to many, perhaps not very interesting. But a divaricating araliad makes an aptly named anomaly in a family of 1500 species, most being larger-leaved tropical plants.

Logan Drummond 10/13/20 Logan Drummond 10/13/20

Manuka on Spheroids

The scrubland is a low, lime carpet of Hebe ligustrifolia, Leucopogon fasiculatus and Coprosma arborea rolling away under mānuka with a prostrate growth habit. Terry Hatch was responsible for bringing this form of mānuka into cultivation and is now sold at nurseries as Leptospermum ‘Mahinepua’.

Logan Drummond 8/27/20 Logan Drummond 8/27/20

Buried in Sand

Scouring and deposition has buried areas which were once forest, now skeletal branches poke their arms from a sandy grave. While the trees did not survive, some of the lianes which once adorned their crowns are holding on in the sand.

Logan Drummond 8/14/20 Logan Drummond 8/14/20

A Pair of Threatened Dandelions

With no prior knowledge of Sonchus novae-zelandiae, I stumbled across it by accident and was instantly struck by the attractiveness of this small herb. The glaucous rosettes contrast nicely from its older yellowing leaves. Perched atop quartz rich Marlborough schist, its salty looking fine hairs and flower buds appear at home by the sea edge.