Contents

COVER PHOTO HEADLINE : New heights : the best photographs of 2023.
CONTENTS : Departments : UP FRONT EDITORIAL -- IN THE FIELD -- VIEWFINDER Chris Hoopmann and Johannes van Kan showcase the meticulously organised chaos of moving a museum -- GeoNEWS Bush perfume, carnage in Antarctica, and our unfortunate fondness for lights that are too much like the sun -- PROFILE Hartley Holder was just 13 when she started a unique animal rescue -- JUST SO Sometimes animals need to dress to impress. But mostly, they dress to fade into the background.
REFLECTION CULTURE A new book remembers Frank Erceg, legendary hunter of the old school. And artist Giselle Clarkson debts as a writer (she's very good) -- HISTORY Why is a knee-high concrete wall plonked in the middle of Lewis Pass.
CONTENTS : Features :
GRIEF BIRD The bittern's eerie, booming call sounds like a lament, a tangi ringing across the marshes. Now, the birds themselves are in trouble.
KINANOMICS The market - and human appetite - are often to blame for ecosystem destruction. But in the case of kina barrens, they might be part of the solution.
FETCH Trainee search-and-rescue teams - one dog, one human - meet at a twice-yearly event that's part book camp, part Survivor. Not all of them will make it through.
THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW Ploughing - the epitome of the colonial 'civilising' of land - is as fundamental to this country's history as war and rugby. Perhaps it's not surprising that we make a sport out of it.
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR There were more than 6000 entries in this year's event, just 68 finalists and a handful of winners. There are the best editorial images of the year.