Swamp Fever is the fascinating tale of one man’s life as an alternative lifestyler in Golden Bay, northwest of Nelson. As a nineteen-year-old, Gerard Hindmarsh quit his public servant job as a cartographic cadet for the Department of Lands and Survey and bought a block of scrub-covered, swampy land at Tukurua near Collingwood. Gerard was part of the homesteading movement of the 1970s, embracing the hippy ideals of getting back to the land to live a more self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. Much of his land was swamp, initially earmarked for draining, but, after fortuitously discovering its vibrant ecology, Gerard fell in love with not only his swamp, but swamps in general.