High country New Zealand : the land, the people, the seasons / photography by Antonia Steeg ; introduction by Philip Temple.

Includes index.

Many know New Zealand's High Country for its beautiful scenery u the snow-cloaked mountains, braided rivers and tussock grasslands, shaped by millions of years of natural events and centuries of exploration and settlement by both Maori and Europeans. With its rich human heritage and mythology, the ever-changing High Country is central to the country's psyche and identity. Yet few have experienced the day-to-day life of the men, women, and children who live in these remote regions. Regions where high tech farming methods are used alongside tools an early settler would recognise, where animals play a central role, where hours are long and income can be short, and where everyday livelihoods are at the mercy of the weather. Photographer Antonia Steeg began her work documenting the High Country in 2008, when she was invited to attend the last muster at historic Mesopotamia Station. This quickly expanded into a massive four-year project capturing the land, its people and their way of life through the changing seasons. In her work Antonia has driven over 120,000 kilometres by 4-wheel-drive, seen parts of the country few will ever reach, experienced wild extremes of weather and made more than 100 station visits, meeting and working alongside the modern day pioneers who live there. Of the tens of thousands of high quality photographs she has taken, three hundred of the very best are distilled into this, her first full-length book.