Geography

In the Shadow of Giants

Life thrives against the odds in the frozen sands of Te Onetapu, one of just a handful of volcanic dune systems in the world. Formed by the sand, rock and ash ejected from volcanic activity, this windy and hostile environment is transformed every time a giant awakes.

Magazine

ISSUE 117

Sep - Oct 2012

Avalanche

Trout

Alpine tourism

Turtles

Te Onetapu

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Geography

Avalanche

Snow avalanches—such as this one seen from Tasman Glacier in Mt Cook National Park—are among nature’s most striking spectacles. Most occur naturally, unseen and harmless, but those that occur around ski fields or roads have claimed the lives of 140 New Zealanders since records were kept.

Living World

Signs of Life

Like a planet in space, a rainbow trout egg sparks and crackles as biological processes begin a miraculous transformation, the same that progresses silently in the inscrutable waters of New Zealand’s wild rivers every day. But even in clean rivers, the odds are stacked against this small vessel of life—only one in a thousand eggs will hatch and survive until adulthood.

Science & Environment

Return of the ancients

Sea turtles survived a meteor that killed the dinosaurs, millions of years of predator attacks, even the slow warming of the seas, only to be threatened by nylon fishing lines and plastic bags. Those that wash up in New Zealand almost always need the help of humans.

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