Wild Central, Discovering the natural history of Central Otago

Forest and Bird, Issue 295, 1 February 2000, Page 46

Wild Central, Discovering the natural history of Central Otago

by

and

Neville Peat

Brian

140pp limp, Otago

University Press, Dunedin 1999, RRP$39.95. The authors of Wild Dunedin and Wild Fiordland have now turned to their other neighbourhood, the dry centre of Otago. This is a larger format book than its companions, and a limpbound volume, but it is much the same idea. The natural heritage of the goldfields and drylands is lovingly delineated in text and photograph. From the foundation rocks to the plants, lizards and insects of the exposed mountain tops, the

nature of Wild Central is progressively revealed. (Brian Patrick is an expert on insects, and this region has many of its own.) Even the pictures of soil exposures are attractive and evocative. The book wanders (in an organized way) across the flattened mountain tops of Central, finds the treasures in its streams and remnant forests, and explores its outstanding rock tors. It follows down the gorges of the Clutha, visits the inland lakes, and the ramparts of the surrounding mountains. The text includes scientific names, and the book serves as a practical guide to the natural history of the area, albeit in a format rather too large (and likely to be damaged) in the field. As a reference, and as an ‘armchair’ book evocative of the natural charms of Central Otago, this book is a pleasure.