Awarua (The Passage)

We are brought aboard The Mako; she is a beautifully carved waka ama. The Mako is fast, with the kaihoe (20 men) at the paddles, and her sail up she flies across the water. She is like a huge creature, dark and mysterious. Onboard is Te Huka (13yrs), the sharp-eyed pathfinder. Keeping the beat amidships is Whiro. He is vicious, formidable. On the deck near the back are two women. La'akea is beautiful Polynesian princess, and Te Huka's betrothed. Next to La'akea is Te Huka's mother, Kearoa. And at Kearoa's feet is her little dog Moi. Finally at the steering paddle is Te Huka's father, Toto. He is the iho (captain) of the Mako. Within sight of home, Whiro and the kaihoe rise up in Mutiny. His parents are slaughtered, and La'akea is taken. Te Huka is marooned on the rugged West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. This is the story of his journey from boy to man, the friends he makes, and the battles he fights on the way back to Rotorua, to face the man who took everything from him, everything but the wind.