Fieldwork take 2

Look at all that broom

Wait another 2 months to do field work again? Not a chance! With a few days rest I was off on another exciting adventure, this time to Southland. The trip started off with a few little surprises. Apparently there was some sort of biker event and a conference going on at the same time we were going. Luckily we were able to find accommodation. After calling 11 motels. And getting one 40 minutes away from our meeting place for the next day. We were all also starving and that 40-minute drive with delicious takeaway food on our laps was torture. But all's well that ends well. We finally got to eat and relax, have a chat and enjoy each others company (gotta say my co-workers are pretty cool and bonding during this trip was just great :)

After doing a couple Buttercup collections which were super speedy as even the farmer helped get everything done, we were on our way to look at some release sites for the control of broom. We were happy to see that some agents were doing extremely well, completely covering the plants and doing noticeable damage. Even with them though, weeds are incredibly tough and aren't standing down without a fight.

Native Lilly

In the evening, a local department of conservation worker showed me around a bit. We drove to Lake Te Anau and walked the first 10 minutes of the Kepler track- one of the great walks of New Zealand. Would have walked quite a bit more, but it was getting dark so we decided to make our way out to the lake and then head back before it got too dark to see. And so with the sound of a Morepork (New Zealand owl) in the distance we made our way back chatting about survival camps, the start of the environmental movement in New Zealand, crazy field work experiences and marvelling at the nature that surrounded us.

On our last full day, we made some collections along Lake Manapouri, another gorgeous place to visit. We even drove around it trying to find some native Buttercup species, and without any luck in finding one in a previous known spot, we managed to find some different ones in the forest. Had the best day, beautiful places, great time with the colleagues, even solved a small workplace mystery :D 

Native Buttercup :)

Have to come back and explore more of the area, maybe do the full Kepler track next time :)