Polynesian Navigation and the Discovery of New Zealand

The Polynesian navigator Kupe is credited with the discovery of New Zealand and his expedition named Aortearoa, land of the long white cloud. How did he and the many canoes that followed find their way without modern navigational techniques through preilous seas in wooden canoes? By examining myth, star charts and contemporary Polynesian seafaring, Jeff Evans traces the methods by which the early explorers made their epic voyages. The book's second part travels with Maori canoe expert Matahi Brightwell and navigator Frances Cowan aboard the traditional canoe Hawaiki-nui, following traditional navigation, with no modern aids, on its historic voyage from Tahiti to New Zealand.