Desmond Bovey lived in France for thirty years, predominantly working as an art director, specialising in ecology and environmental interpretation.
Upon returning home to Whanganui he was in search of a project to reconnect with Aotearoa - and worked on some environmental projects for DOC and Forest and Bird.
Then, the diversity of the Central Plateau captured him, in particular an up close encounter with a rare Karearea - NZ Falcon and this inspired many sketches.
The result is his book - Tongariro National Park - an artists field guide. Desmond Bovey has not only written it, but also done the 400 illustrations which grace the pages, capturing the landscapes, plants and animals of the area.