Under The Microscope

WILD CENTRAL Discovering the natural history of Central Otago, by Neville Peat and Brian Patrick; University of Otago Press, 1999; 144 pp; $39.95

Reviewed by Vicki Hyde

This is a book I have been waiting for without realising it. Now on our annual sojourn south I'll be able to feel I appreciate more than just the beauty of the landscape and its flora and fauna -- I'll know what those landforms represent, and understand the challenges it presents to its surprisingly diverse plant and animal life.

It's all too easy to chew up the miles driving through Central Otago and assuming it is all semi-barren waste. Peat and Patrick give you a close-up view to show you how wrong that impression can be. Their love for the special nature of Central shines through their well-written text and beautifully presented photographs. More maps would have been a help to the non-local struggling to sort out one rocky outcrop from another, but it's a minor quibble.

It would be great to see other university presses take on the challenge and produce equally inviting books about their own area.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.