Background - The Kaimanawas ...work in progress

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Over the last 4 years I have journeyed into the Kaimanawas in a variety of seasons and conditions to photograph the environment and signs of human experience.

My interest initially rose out of my interest in the Volcanic Zone and the subsequent exhibition I produced on the Tongariro National Park.

Literally across the road on State Highway One is the Kaimanawas (rough Maori translation for Kaimanawa is 'the nourished heart').

The region is designated a Forest Park and has a number of interesting and contrasting functions:

• It is a site for hunting; Sika and red deer are prevalent.
• It contains a diminishing herd of wild horses.
• It contains Powellaphanta, the giant native snail, and the smallest native buttercup.
• Its southernmost reaches are home to the largest Army base in New Zealand.
• It has historical significance for Maori.
• It's also a site for fishing and rafting and has a small number of walking tracks.
• Some of the Maori land is leased out to hunting operations that have an infrastructure of choppers and basic accommodation.
• There a number of old logging camps and bivouacs, and until recently a hermit who had lived in the bush for over 20 years.
• The Kaimanawas is also the site selected by John Mulgan to test the mettle of his anti-hero Johnson in "Man Alone".
• The climate of the Kaimanawas is harsh with bitter winters and bleached summers.

Helen Mitchell, 2003