It was quite an adventure and definitely a learning experience. Sacada's whizzed by like bullets fired from behind as we hopped streams, traversed swampy cow pasture (often running face to face with the bush dwellers!), climbed steep inclines and scaled the declines of the bush. For a moment I let the juvenile in me imagine it as an escape from a prison camp in the Vietnam jungle. Sometimes only complete invested faith in my grasping of a tiny, flimsy, dying branch was the only hope of not tumbling down some of the steep ridges, but some might say my imagination is just being dramatic. In any case, thank you hiking shoes for helping me fight the battle against the forces of gravity. In reality, we must have looked like neurotic apes that just learned how to use a tape measure, leaping through the forest frequently stopping in our tracks to take measurements Totara and Puriri trees (native species).
Sacada's come every year here, and in some parts of the bush their party is so dense and roughty that after passing them it feels similar to having been to a metal concert. Ears ringing, lungs panting, and pupils widening, we moved on to take a sample plot of the forest's species composition. We hammered a post deep into the ground, set a circumference parameter of 8 meters and measured trees within the circle for their distance from plot center, height, circumference, apropriate angles and compass notch, numbering them with a can of orange spray-paint. Trigonometry, geometry and algebra + trees= neat. Years from now, another forester could come and re-measure the same plot, comparing our archived measurements for growth-rates and diversity changes.
[Now you know what those neon numbers are]In between working and working out, Paul and I got to chatting quite a bit. Paul offered insight to his perspective on the current political-ecological climate in NZ. He comes from a very conservative but radical opinion that holds position against Greenpeace and other large "green" organizations, believe it or not. He maintains that large all-encompassing organizations like Greenpeace are relatively il-informed in their approach and goal towards sustainability. Organizations like Greenpeace have good intentions but are ultimately failing in catering to the specific needs in unique environments. They preach against logging of indigenous forests in efforts to preserve native species and re-growth of unique forest life for the land, but this fails to attend to vital details. Paul's general position maintains that it would be more beneficial and fruitful to have the forest regenerate and for it to be logged in proper intervals, allowing it to regrow more densely and consistently. This provides a more sustainable model, enabling the bush to thrive with many layers of age, naturally self-sustaining on its own fallen vegetation. A "no-logging-at-all" policy ultimately fails as a model because it allows non-native species that are already prevalent in otherwise indigenous forests to dominate in cases where the native species are a step behind due to consumer demand. ...You'll just have to pick apart that sentence.
...If consumers are purchasing more timber from pine trees that aren’t native to New Zealand (because they grow extremely fast and straight in large quantities), of course those trying to survive and thrive financially follow suit, plowing down huge sections of native bush and planting huge plots of non-native pine trees. It’s simple, quick and profitable. What they don’t know is that with a bit of education and effort, they could be making easily as much or more money off indigenous timbers if their environment is properly cared for, and can likewise take part in preserving forests and lanscapes that are unique to the country.
Needless to say, it was quite a learning experience and definitely good insight into another skill-set, career and lifestyle.
After an entire days-worth of making the forest our personal jungle-gym, Paul and Katarina treated us to an excellent dinner back at their place. Kebabs, sausages, colourful salad, rice, beans, olives and feta, wine, beer and a variety show medley of local potatoes. Among the spuds was the the widely popular Kumera. In New Zealand they use it just about anything and like to pretend its something really special, but in reality it's just a funny looking sweet potato. Desert was more wine and beer, dark chocolate, "Hokey Pokey" ice-cream (butterscotch) and hot drinks. We went to bed back with the spiders in one of Andy's 60's caravans, stomachs full. A good day and night for sure. But I have never had an evening experience like did the next night...
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