From tussocks to tourists

"The location chosen as the focus for this book comprises the catchments of the three great Canterbury rivers - the Waimakariri, Raikaia and the Rangitata - as well as the headwaters of the smaller Ashburton and Selwyn Rivers. It does not include the Hurunui and other rivers in North Canterbury, nor does it extend to the Waitaki catchment in the MacKenzie Basin ... this book is about the high country of central Canterbury ... This book discusses both the physical environment and the human impact on it, including early settlement, the era of the big sheep runs and the recent development of tourism" -- p. 7