Fiordland, New Zealand's largest national park and first UNESCO World Heritage Area, is renowned for its extraordinary beauty. The region has long been known to Maori, who made epic journeys overland in search of pounamu and tangiwai (New Zealand jade and bowenite), which they used to shape weapons and ornaments such as hei tiki. The scenic attractions are well-chronicled, yet there is another Fiordland: the hidden wilderness below the waterline in the drowned glacial valleys that are the fiords. With native bush reaching to the water's edge and some of the heaviest rainfall runoff on the planet, the underwater environment of the fiords contains an astonishing range of species from warm, cold and deep water habitats, forming unique marine communities. Colonies of black coral live here in water as shallow as three metres, with maximum abundance from 15 to 20 metres. Black corals are usually found only around offshore islands, in very clear water at depths greater than 40 metres. The physical and biological processes, including unusual patterns of topography, oceanography, terrestrial vegetation, climate and the presence of marine organisms usually found only in deep water, makes this a fascinating study. Fiordland Underwater is the first comprehensive work on the subject. Written for both the ecology student and the interested visitor, it includes over 200 color photographs of the marine organisms (some of which are believed to have been photographed for the first time) and the silent world they inhabit. The authors note the increasing environmental pressures here, advocating for the underwater areas of the fiords to be included within the national park. Their hope is for this book to inspire greater appreciation of the hidden wilderness, so that it remains undisturbed forever.

Fiordland Underwater, New Zealand's Hidden Wilderness

Science & Math

Paddy Ryan

Chris Paulin

Biological Sciences

Exisle Publishing Ltd

In Untamed Coast Bob Harvey takes us on a personal odyssey to places he knows and loves. It is an intimate journey set in spectacular, primeval landscapes of sea-hewn rocks and black sand beaches. It is the story of the west coast between the Manukau and Kaipara harbours where sea collides with land and rainforest cloaks the hills. It is a place of powerful evolutionary and geological forces, of nature in the raw. It is about the men, women and children who live there. Waitakere's west coast has attracted people, from the very earliest days of Maori settlement a thousand years ago. Bob Harvey writes of the people of the coast with vitality and respect. There are tales of courage, or tragedy, of greed and war. These are stories of the pioneers, of Maori and later paheka who came to the coast. Some sought to tame it but most learned to live with its power and respect its spirit. The sea is the omnipresent setting for many of the descriptions of human activity in this part of New Zealand. There are a surprising number of shipwrecks, with hundreds of lives lost. As befitting an old surfer, there are swimming tragedies too, in which the author's knowledge of the sea and awareness of its dangers are apparent. Bob also takes us to the secret places he has discovered during his lifetime of exploring the coast. His evocative descriptions are personal; his love of these places is clear. The narrative is enlivened and illustrated by Ted Scott's photographs and others from historical collections. These images capture the characters, the landscapes and the drama of the coast and add a fascinating dimension in the text. This book is written by a true raconteur, one whose nostalgia for a New Zealand of the past comes alive in these pages. It will appeal to all who love these places and should strengthen our determination to keep it forever the untamed coast.

Untamed Coast: Auckland's Waitakere Ranges and West Coast Beaches

Travel

Harvey, Bob

Australia & South Pacific

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Books by Exisle Publishing Ltd