Notes

New Zealand author.
On cover: Who would risk their life to save a species? One boy would.
First published: 2002.
Summary: Set near Opotiki in the Bay of Plenty NZ. A boy grieving after the death of his father discovers a living giant gecko Hoplodactylus delcourti thought to be extinct for more than 100 years. The gecko gives birth to three babies. The family is first threatened by a 1080 drop then by a flood. Wildlife smugglers looking for kiwi find the family and steal them. GPS tracking allows the boy to follow the smugglers to White Island. While there, an earthquake triggers a lahar which traps the smugglers and allows the boy to escape. The geckos are recovered. Through his relationship with the geckos the boy comes to accept his father's death. (Publisher)