Otematata Station owner Hugh Cameron has been happy to let a large group of University of Otago surveying students roam across his land each summer for the past 17 years. This year, the thousandth student was among them.
The students are not exactly roaming - they are split into six groups of 10 supervised by university staff and focused on 10 assignments during their six-day stay.
They are second-year students, having completed an intermediate year and been selected for another three years of professional studies.
Although their arrival caused some consternation among Otematata residents at first, they are now welcomed as an annual influx.
The misunderstanding was cleared up as the university staff explained their students were on a camp to put surveying first principles into practice in the field.
The survey party stays at the local camping ground, in the dormitory that was the single men's quarters when Otematata was created in 1958, as a base for the construction of the Aviemore and Benmore dams.
''It's cheap and cheerful,'' University of Otago School of Surveying professional practice fellow Richard Hemi said.
''We love coming here.''
While some students are busy at Rata Park, others head through the nearby gates on to Otematata Station. It has reclaimed some of the land commandeered by the Government for the dam projects, but there are still traces of its urban days - stretches of tarsealed road with pedestrian crossings and parking areas.
The site is ideal for the students - it contains the sort of infrastructure they might encounter in a real-life surveying task, yet there is no traffic danger.
Mr Cameron's plans to irrigate some of the land would not scupper the camp. He told its organisers he would tailor his activities to keep the farm available.
This year's students are a diverse group, from all over New Zealand, as well as Samoa, Tonga, Australia, Guatemala, and China. The ratio of females was also higher than before in this largely male domain.
Mr Hemi said they worked hard in Otematata and were aware they represented the school and their profession in public. Their commitment was shown in their attendance at the camp a week before their fellow students arrived in Dunedin for Orientation Week.
Once qualified, they could find themselves in a wide range of situations - from grimy work alongside bulldozers to presenting reports to decision-making authorities. Surveying contained elements of law, the environment, and communications.
''We're often looking for an all-rounder,'' Mr Hemi said.
Professional practice fellow Jim Bazsika said most people who became surveyors stayed in the industry. It offered a great mix of science, practicality, specialisation, and respect as a profession.
Surveyors were in huge demand world-wide and the university was keen to promote its school to prospective participants.
Sciences pro-vice-chancellor Richard Barker visited the camp on its final day. He talked with the staff and students over lunch in the canteen and afterwards during their field work on Otematata Station.
