Millie and Toby are tramping with their mum on New Zealand’s Heaphy Track when their life changes. Mum is suddenly lying in agony with a broken leg, and Millie and Toby must decide what to do. Deciding to make mum safe, dry and as comfortable as possible while going for help is not an easy decision, and soon one they regret.

They are lost. It is dark, cold and they don’t have a lot of food. When cooked snails appear near them in the dark, they are part relieved at the food, part horrified at these protected snails being cooked, and part frightened at who or what left them for them. Moving shapes, and strange clicking sounds in the night frighten them further.

Facing another night lost in the bush, and worrying about their mother, they shelter under a rocky outcrop. This is where they first see the creatures that have been helping them. They are small, stooped and almost black skinned. But they understand the siblings and lead them down through a cave into a whole new world.

Fascinated and fearful, they learn about these subterranean cave dwellers and even some of their history. They are the Night Tribe where they all live as equals. Millie and Toby are thankful for their help, food and warmth but before long discover that the help they received was not without a cost.

We are into the action early in this story of a whole new world and culture living under a South Island National Park of New Zealand. The Night Tribe is a riveting read and the back story of this tribe fascinating. The longer the lost young characters are kept underground, the more intense the story becomes. Will they have to stay forever in order for the Tribe to survive?

All the while I was wondering along with the characters how their mum was coping alone in the bush herself, and willing the siblings to get out any way they could. The Night Tribe themselves were interesting characters, especially ‘Empty’ who spoke in rhymes so she could be allowed to change her name to ‘Poet’.

The author’s storytelling and history of The Night Tribe had my imagination soaring – wondering if something like them could be possible. The emotional journey of the siblings is expressed authentically as they swing between fear, wonder, empathy and the will to escape. The reason to keep the siblings underground is unsettling and creepy.  

Something different.

Author – Peter Butler

Age – 11+

Read the first Chapter here

(2023, Onetree House, Kiwi, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Heaphy Track, Tramping, Accident, Lost in the bush, South Island, Dark, Cave dwellers, Mystery, Genetics, Escape, Rescue Mission, Siblings, Search and Rescue Helicopters, Action, Tension, Subterranean Tribe, Secret, Hidden)