Author: Phyl Wardell

Published: 1983

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Hardback

Pages: 144

Suitable: Ages 9-13

Thirteen-year-old Ted and his older sister, Debbie, are caught up in excitement, adventure, dangerand intrigue while on a camping holiday with their father.

They are forced by a storm to shelter for the night in an abandoned cottage at the foot of a beautiful, wooded hillside. It soon becomes clear that they are unwelcome intruders, much to the consternation of Ted, who feels that the hill is the perfect place for finding the extinct huia - his secret dream.

Who is the mysterious Matt Nelson and why does he go to so much trouble to scare people off his property? Why does the greedy property dealer, Alvin Healey, want the Nelson land so much?

An adventure thriller with a strong conservation theme, for the 9-13 year olds