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A landmark book about New Zealand’s marine reserves that connects readers to New Zealand waters. Written by award-winning natural history writer Janet Hunt, this book examines New Zealand’s 34 marine reserves, and the need to protect and preserve our seas and foreshores in their natural state. Each chapter contains features about outstanding plants, birds, fish, mammals, invertebrates and crustaceans as well as interviews and items of interest about people associated with marine conservation such as divers, underwater camera operators and marine biologists. From New Zealand’s most distant marine reserves (the Kermadecs and the Auckland Islands) to the Poor Knights, and from the five reserves of the Hauraki Marine Park to the ten reserves of Fiordland, this book also covers New Zealand’s marine animals and their unique environments. It’s a fascinating tale, with stories of conger eels prowl for sleeping fish, mass gatherings of fish, tropical turtles, the snatch-and-grab habits of gannets and much much more. Based on a six-episode television series made by Natural History New Zealand and which is to be screened on TVNZ in late 2014 but it goes much further than the six episodes go. This entertaining, beautiful and engaging book about our little-known backyard oceans, the place where the world’s largest marine predators and weirdest fish live, covers a wide variety of life from the sub-tropical seas to the sub-Antarctic oceans. It makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the sometimes contested waters that surround us.

New Zealand is world famous for its natural environment: its changeable and unique landscape, its strange and wonderful flora and fauna. This book is both guidebook and celebration, a handbook outlining the most significant features of our wilderness and introducing the key species and where they can easily be observed and experienced. As the title suggests, the book is about easily accessible nature experiences: viewing areas and hides from which rare birds can be observed, short bush walks and even what can be seen directly from the car as the Kiwi or international tourist drives through this magnificent country of ours. It covers such highlights as dolphins in the Bay of Islands, godwits on the Thames Coast and near Christchurch, the flora and fauna of the Southern Alps, and penguins and seals in Otago. Fully illustrated with beautiful colour photographs, it can be enjoyed at home to plan a trip or taken on the road to entertain and inform.

First published in 2000, the Collins Field Guide to New Zealand Wildlife quickly became a classic of its kind. Familiar to both national and international travellers keen to identify the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, freshwater fish and invertebrates commonly encountered in this country, its combination of authoritative yet clear and precise textual descriptions and stunning photographs proved an instant winner. Now, more than 10 years on, this classic field guide has been updated and extended to make it even more useful to travellers with an interest in natural history and ecology. Retaining its useful glovebox-friendly format, the significantly expanded text will also include the latest research findings and changes in classification and nomenclature that have occurred in the past 10 years, along with new photographs where appropriate. Including both native and introduced species, each entry succinctly describes both habits and habitats, distribution, classification, breeding patterns, food and recognition tips to assist amateur identification. A wonderful addition to any natural history collection.

This much anticipated revised and expanded edition describes the Chatham Islands, with particular emphasis on their geology, flora, fauna, habitats, and extinct and endangered species – both on the land and in the sea. It gives an introduction to the history of the islands and a guide to the many reserves and covenants that have been set up to protect and conserve the islands’ heritage. Profusely illustrated with an outstanding selection of colour photos, artwork and maps, as well as historical photographs.

The first of three volumes that will chart the progress of a scientific inventory of New Zealand’s live and fossil biodiversity. This is a lavish production and value for money. An international effort involving more than 220 New Zealand specialists, this project, when completed, will include every one of the almost 55,000 known species of animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms in the country. Part of “Species 2000”, an international scientific project, the long-term goal is to enumerate all known species on earth into one seamless list called the “Catalog of Life”, which will function as an online biological catalog. To date, only New Zealand has compiled a checklist of its entire biota. Volume two [32943] and volume three [34438].