Exploring Aotearoa – Short walks to reveal the Maori landscape is a guide to Maori landmarks and their history in Aotearoa. In addition to providing information on the history it gives you directions to find the sites, information about the track and how long it will take you.
I’m liking
I liked planning where to visit when we went to Ohope on holiday, given it was an area that I didn’t know well it was interesting to learn a bit about the history. My particular favorite was the story of how Whakatane got it’s name. Unfortunately, I left the book behind when we went on holiday so I had to rely on my memory, but it was good once I got home and reread the information on the places we went.
I’ve lived in a number of places in New Zealand, so I also enjoyed reading the history of places I knew well, some stories were familiar while others were totally new. The book gave me a new appreciation of places I thought I knew well.
Things that made me go hmmmm
I don’t have any negative comments to about this book, it’s a good read.
The conclusion
This is a great book that’s interesting to read either at home as an armchair tourist or as an actual tourist. All of the walks are short so good for a family with smaller children. It’s full of history that all New Zealanders should know, told in a manner that’s accessible and enjoyable.
