I had arrived with big expectations and a head torch, but reality soon crept in. Firstly, lava stone is the most painful rock to kneel on, no question. It even hurts, picking up a rock. After half an hour of fruitless searching, I found a single springtail, a juvenile Neelus murinus.
Read MoreWithin a few days of arriving, beneath the tree ferns at St Columba Falls in the east of Tasmania, I'd found and photographed my first Adelphoderia regina, a juvenile, complete with those bizarre neck organs. They were unmistakable. I also saw my first Acanthanura, the genus of famous Australian 'giant' springtails and got a leech in my eye. That was a great day.
Read MoreFranz Josef has one of the most accessible glaciers in NZ, the other being Fox Glacier, a few miles beyond. Climate change is pushing the glaciers back at an incredible and saddening rate. If it continues to melt, within thirty years, there may not be any glaciers left at all.
Read MoreIt's coming up to the end of summer in New Zealand and almost the start of spring in the UK. Time goes quickly.
When I first left the UK to begin this journey, a couple of years ago, I didn't look back once.
