What would it feel like to be the first person to step ashore in New Zealand?

Before there were villages, before there were names for mountains and rivers, before any human footprint marked the sand, Aotearoa existed as a vast and untouched world of towering forests, giant flightless birds, strange voices in the dawn, and landscapes unlike anything known in Polynesia.

When navigator Hinerangi and her companions cross the Pacific in search of new land, they become the first people to encounter a country that has evolved for millions of years without human presence.

The birds do not fear them.

The forests seem impossibly large.

The rivers run into mountains that have no names.

And every discovery forces them to confront a deeper question:

Are they merely visitors or the beginning of something permanent?

Blending meticulous historical research with vivid literary storytelling, The First Human Footprints in Aotearoa New Zealand imagines one possible journey into the great silence before recorded history. Through explorers, navigators, healers, hunters, and children, it recreates the wonder, uncertainty, and responsibility of encountering an untouched world for the first time.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Māori and Polynesian history
• New Zealand history and archaeology
• Historical literary fiction
  Indigenous exploration stories
• Nature writing and environmental history
• Epic journeys and first-contact narratives
• Richly immersive historical worlds

A powerful and unforgettable story about discovery, belonging, memory, and the moment humanity first encountered Aotearoa.