Photo: Supplied
Nature writer Andrew Crowe tells Lynn Freeman about the story of Polynesian voyaging and migration; of finding and re-finding small remote islands and atolls scattered throughout the Pacific, following bird migration routes in double-hulled canoes over vast distances, carrying materials to survive and settle on arrival.
His book, Pathway of the Birds: The Voyaging Achievements of Māori and Their Polynesian Ancestors was inspired by commonalities of language across the Pacific to describe nature: birds, plants, fish, stars.
It took 15 years of thorough research and the acquisition of new skills in an attempt to solve an on-going mystery.
Pathway of the Birds has won a whole clutch of awards, including last year's New Zealand Heritage Book Award.
