The Mackenzie Country - A Fine Plain Behind the Snowy Range

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The Mackenzie Country is a book for not only those who already know and love the region, but also for those who have just glimpsed the area and are prepared to be seduced by it.

This spectacular region is regarded by many as an iconic part of New Zealand and this beautifully illustrated book is a wide-ranging look at its landscape, history and people, including:

• The distinctive natural features of its glacially sculptured mountains and plains, harsh extremes of weather, the complex natural ecosystems and their modification by exotic species.
• The history of exploration and the development of the big sheep runs over 150 years. Also the growth of the region as a recreational playground, particularly mountaineering around Aoraki/Mt Cook.
  
• The spawning of innovative ideas in the region, especially the building of the hydro-electric power schemes, with their canals and dams.
• The recent changes that are taking place, including alterations to land use which are transforming its appearance, and the steady expansion of tourism.
• The way this area has provided inspiration for art and literature.

David Relph grew up in the late 1930s and 1940s on a sheep run in the central Canterbury high country. He attended the University of Canterbury, obtaining an MSc in Geography before embarking on a teaching career in secondary schools, mostly in the Auckland region. Over the past 30 years he has written a large number of secondary school textbooks on science and biology and on conservation issues. He has also published occasional articles in a variety of journals and magazines. His passion for the Canterbury high country led to the release in 2007 of From Tussocks to Tourists, a book about the central Canterbury high country, and its success has resulted in the writing of The Mackenzie Country.