Polar forests

An ancient forest floor: fossil leaves hidden in a slab of rock from the Clarence Valley, Marlborough. Image: Liz Kennedy / courtesy National Geographic

Palaeontologist Chris Mays takes some time off from fossil hunting to teach the kids of Pitt Island, Chatham Islands, about the rocks and fossils lying under their feet. Image: Cameron McKenzie / courtesy National Geographic

Palaeobotanists Liz Kennedy and David Cantrill discuss some of the most recently exposed plant fossils from an outcrop along the Clarence River bank. Image: Chris Mays / courtesy National Geographic

Fossil technician Pedro Viegas wields a rock-saw to trim this fossil-rich block down to manageable size. Image: Chris Mays / courtesy National Geographic

John Simes (left), David Cantrill (middle), Chris Mays (right) and Pedro Viegas (behind) lug a slab of rock full of fossil leaves. Image: Liz Kennedy / courtesy National Geographic

Tilted fossiliferous strata is overlain by volcanic rocks at this spectacular outcrop along Seymour Stream, Clarence Valley. The tilting and twisting of the rocks exposed in Clarence Valley reveals a violent geological history. Image: Chris Mays / courtesy National Geographic