In early autumn, I climbed the loftiest hill in the Marlborough Sounds, Mount Stokes, with a modest altitude of 1203 metres. This involved driving for 4 hours via an interminable, winding road skirting the shoreline of Pelorus Sound. The road-trip here is, perhaps, the most dangerous part of my expedition. Once at the scenic reserve, I parked my car and headed into the bush. A smatter of rain had me anxious about the dodgy weather forecast, but I pressed on in blind optimism.