Spring 2002 Journal
March 21st
I started off today, thinking about a Walrus and a carpenter, and Lewis Carrol.
And it got better from there!
"The time has come" the walrus said
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax
Of cabbages and kings
And why the sea is boiling hot
And whether pigs have wings"
A view out the window from our drive up the Wairau Valley, along the edge of the tectonic plates.
Sitting here in the Red Deer Lodge in St. Arnaud, listening to the rain on the roof and the frogs outside, on the edge of Nelson Lakes National Park.
The ferry crossing was pretty exciting with some strong winds and big swells. The weather cleared up fine for our trip the vineyard country surrounding Blenheim. The drive out of the flat lands brought us into some pretty spectacular country and it was great to think that we were driving along the boundary between the IndoAustralian and the Pacific tectonic plates.
Another view out the window from our drive up the Wairau Valley
We arrived late afternoon at Nelson Lakes National Park, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti (literally, little lake in Maori). After dinner we went across the street to hear a presentation from Kimberley, the Department of Conservation, (DoC) community outreach officer who gave us an excellent overview of the mainland island program at Rotoiti. The forests surrounding Lake Rotoiti are composed of southern beeches in the genus (Nothofagus). The trees around the lake have relatives in the same genus in Australia, New Guinea, and Chile, relating to their past and times when these places were part of Gondwana. I have also heard that there were extensive beech forests right across Antartica. The beech forests at Nelson Lakes, like just about every habitat on the North and South Island have been highly impacted by introduced mammals; but here in Nelson Lakes, the German Wasp also poses a big problem for many birds and other invertebrates. Katherine talked about the importance of honeydew, and mast seeding of the beech trees.
We had an interesting discussion with Kimberly about the building of pest proof fences, like Warrenheip, and how this is similiar to creating a zoo. The rare birds like the kaka, bellbirds, and robins are no less dependent on the people that run the trap lines than zoo animals are on zoo keepers. The philosophical issues surrounding conservation in New Zealand do really make you think and question your values about how humans and the natural world interact and benefit from each other. Well, I've done my dash for now. Good night to all those stag heads hanging on the wall here at the Red Deer Lodge.
Tony (lecturer)
Student Entry: March 21st, cont.