To Māori Cape Kidnappers is Te Matau-a-Māui - the fish hook with which demigod Māui hauled up the North Island. British explorer James Cook gave the cape its English name after a Tahitian crew member on his ship was seized by Māori. Cape Kidnappers is also home to a gannet colony where thousands of birds nest. Archival audio sourced from Natural History New Zealand, http://www.nhnz.tv/.

Dominating the Hawke's Bay skyline, Te Mata Peak and the surrounding range resemble a man lying on his back. According to Māori tradition, the peak has its origins in a tale of a giant warrior and a local tribe's attempt to outwit him.

A hill in southern Hawke's Bay can claim the world's longest place name. It refers to a local Māori ancestor, Tamatea, who played his flute to his loved one there. North of Waipawa is Te Aute College, a famous Māori boys' high school that has produced many influential leaders. Archival audio: Te Aute College.

Dubbed 'Little Poland', a camp outside Pahīatua was home to over 700 Polish children displaced by the Second World War. The young refugees, mostly orphans who had survived the harsh conditions of camps in Siberia, arrived in 1944. Although it was expected that they would later return to Poland, most stayed on and made new lives in New Zealand. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-t-5087-pm).

New Zealand's forests were once rich in bird life, but introduced predators have taken a terrible toll - including extinctions of some species. Pūkaha Mount Bruce is one of a number of sanctuaries aiming to eliminate predators and protect native wildlife. It was once part of Seventy Mile Bush, a stretch of dense forest that was settled (and largely cleared) by Scandinavians in the 1870s. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number T7700).

In the late 19th century Pāpāwai marae, outside Greytown, was the focus of the Kotahitanga - the Māori parliament movement, which sought to unify Māori tribes. With 3,000 residents, Pāpāwai was known as 'the Māori capital'.

The army camp established outside Featherston for training First World War recruits took on a very different nature in the Second World War. Over 800 Japanese prisoners of war were held in the camp, and when some refused to work, conflict broke out. Guards opened fire, and 48 prisoners and a guard died. Archival audio: Wild Geese, 'Promises to keep'.

Early European settlers drove sheep around the shoreline rather than attempt to cross the Rimutaka Range between Wellington and Wairarapa. When a railway was built over the mountains in the 1870s, the steep gradient on the Wairarapa side required Fell engines, which have extra horizontal wheels on a central rail. Fell engines were used on the line until a 9-kilometre tunnel opened in 1955. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-t-0229pm).

The wild waters and intense weather of Cook Strait led Māori to perform special rituals when crossing the strait. The inter-island ferry Penguin was wrecked south of Wellington in 1909, causing 75 deaths, and 51 people died when the Wahine foundered at the entrance to Wellington Harbour in 1968. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-t-0605-su03-pm).

In Māori tradition, the drowned river valleys of the Marlborough Sounds were explored by the legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe in his pursuit of a giant octopus. Many place names in the area relate to Kupe. British navigator James Cook also explored the Sounds, resting and reprovisioning his crew at Ship Cove. Whaling stations were later established. Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number TCDR1071).