Peter's immediate environment, as a young child, was the granite, tree-covered mountains and clear waters of the Hollyford Valley. As a youth and into early adulthood it was the tussock country of the Te Anau Basin that he frequented. He was also among the early contract staff to carry out the initial task of levelling swathes of shrub and bush so that it could become productive agricultural soil. Leaving for a few years to live further south, Peter returned and worked for the Fiordland National Park Board and its successor, the Department of Conservation. In this profile, he reflects on his work in the Basin and remembers some of his many colleagues.