NZ field trips: Johan in NZ

[Maggi Young]

As you may know from the New Zealand Field Trips December 2008 thread, Swedish Forumist Johan Nilson is over in NZ at the moment and is being greatly assisted in his travels to view as many of the  wonderful alpine plants that country has to offer as he possibly can, by various kind NZAGS/SRGC members, such as Kim Roberts  (recently  registered for the Forum - what kept you, Kim?!!).
 Kim has sent over these photos , taken by another alpinist chum, Stuart Murray, of Johan and his girlfriend, Lina,  struggling across the very steep slopes of Mt. Hutt, to photograph some large specimens of Raoulia eximia ....

...as ever, click the pix to enlarge them....

[hadacekf]

Super pictures and plants! I visited the same place.

[Paddy Tobin]

My goodness, the raoulia is extraordinary.

Great pictures. Paddy

[Maggi Young]

Extraordinay place, extraordinary plants, Paddy!
 Kind of Kim and Stuart to send these over for us. 

[Lvandelft]

Beautiful pictures. What an outstanding place to botanise.
The last picture let arise the question if Johan stayed overnight between these enormous grey/white cushions.

[Maggi Young]

They were not camping on Mt Hutt, Luit.... but they bought a tent and have been travelling with that........ I'd rather nip back to Kim's place, I reckon!!

[Lvandelft]

It was just the way how his girlfriend was walking away after pict. 8,
let me think like I did.. 

[Lesley Cox]

You can easily see how these amazing plants came to be called vegetable sheep. More than one high country farmer in the old days was known to send his dogs out around them to round them up at the fall muster.

[Paul T]

Oh dear... I am struggling to stop myself from sheep jokes at NZers expense!!    Don't be cruel to me like this. 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

awesome !!!!

[art600]

I think there must be a picture missing - the one where they lose their footing and roll to the bottom 

It looks steep but stable.  If there is the slightest movement you would not catch me anywhere near, even though the reward of capturing these incredible plants in close-up is tempting.

[Lesley Cox]

This particular place is quite stable Art and in any case there are grass tussocks to grab and pull oneself up by.

Paul, behave yourself!

[Paul T]

Aw, but Mum!!

[Johan Nilson]

Hi everyone!

After a couple of weeks in Indonesia before returning back to Sweden and smaller problems with Internet connections, I'm finely back here at the forum. I have had a fantastic trip with six weeks in New Zealand and about three weeks in the northern parts of Sumatra.
It feels great to be welcomed back to find a thread here devoted to me and my trip. Thanks you Maggi for that and thanks to Stuart for those excellent pictures. Especially I want to thank Kim Robert. Not just for sending Maggi the pictures, but especially for her great hospitality and for bringing us up to Mt Hutt that day.

And of course thanks to you all for your comments .

It was just great to see these great cushions of Raoulia eximia out there. And of course being the first time for me, I just had to see it from all possible angles, and Yes my camera was quite warm at that point as well.

So here comes a couple of pictures, starting from that day at Mt hutt.

First Gaultheria crassa
2. Raoulia eximia.
3. Ranunculus sp. Please give me sugestions.
4. Luzula sp?
5. Leptinella pyrethrifolia?
6 & 7. Phyllachne colensoi

[Johan Nilson]

Here is some more pictures from Mt Hutt.
The NZ-flora is all new to me so there is probebly a lot of wrong named pictures . So please corect me as much as posible . 



First Kim Roberts & Stuart Murray.
2. Raulia grandiflora
3. Must be a Raulia, But wich one?
4. Celmisia sp.
5. Haastia?