2 A living ENTITY

I AM ON THE EDGE of Lake Waikaremoana in a basic wooden cabin. My cabin, shared with five others, overlooks the black waters of Opourau Bay. Groceries are being piled onto a round table and organised into daily portions. It’s mid-January and a mild 17 degrees outside. Black swans honk as they paddle across the lake. Thunder rumbles. Rain courses down the window.

Back in my Wellington city apartment, I dreamed of getting away to this isolated pocket of Te Urewera walking among giant podocarps. What I hadn’t banked on was the insight I’d get into the cultural