This episode will be changed and modified with the input from an indigenous producer. We imagine the episode might include some of the following ideas and locations.

 

The episode opens with drone footage of the team members wandering on a hillside strewn with giant smooth boulders. As the drone flies over scores of limestone monoliths we get a feel for the immensity this place the Dali Lama called, “The Spiritual Centre of the Universe, where heaven and earth come together.”

 

The team is on the South Island of New Zealand, at a sacred place called Kura Tawhiti. This is the name given to this ‘Birth-place of the Gods.'

 

The team gathers and asks the ancestors and spirits of this place for permission to be here and learn. In addition to John Paul, the team for this episode includes a geologist testing the theories and accepted knowledge of geologic time, an archeo-astronomer revealing physical alignments of constellations in the past and an indigenous, possibly Waitaha story teller, sharing ancient songs that tell us about the distant past.

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The team is struck by the beauty of this site and in particular find Kura Tawhiti or Castle Hill to be both breathtaking and exhilarating. John Paul explains the importance of spending several days here so that each team member will have the opportunity to walk amongst the boulders of three hill-top sites to sense the scale and feel the connection to ancient times.

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After several hours of ‘bouldering’ amongst the amazing rock formations, the geologist gathers the team around her laptop to help everyone see the triangular alignment of the three groups of monoliths that will be explored. A topographical map helps the team orient themselves here in this academy of stone teachers.

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In the morning, John Paul takes the team on a hike up to a particular monolith on the summit of Kura Tawhiti. Along the way our Waitaha storyteller explains that Kura Tawhiti translates as ‘School Distant’. John Paul and the storyteller explain that this area is a vast outdoor academy whose stones contain the wisdom and cosmology of the Urukehu gods as well as that of the Waitaha. Each monolith imparted a specific teaching to visiting initiates. The archeo-astronomer explains that many of these monoliths are aligned in a similar fashion to stone circles in Europe.

 

At mid-day the team gathers at the fifty-foot tall monolith named for the goddess of the site, Marotine. This stone has been venerated for thousands of years. John Paul will connect to the rock and introduce the team as a new group of initiates. It is expected that everyone will feel a palpable electrical charge as the geologist explains that water percolating through the limestone bedrock produces a natural electrical charge. A guardian of this site had shared with John Paul how these stones were shaped to be recognised. A Waitaha legend explains that the Urukehu gods sculpted many of the stones here without breaking the spirit of the living raw material. ​

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The spirit guardian showed John Paul several other important stones he can connect with to gain different teachings. In the hours before sunset the team visits several monoliths whose shapes are strange and unique. Waitaha stories tell of the Urukehu gods who fashioned many stones as markers for stars and calendars. That night the archeo-astronomer takes the team back to the monolith of Marotine and opens the Stellarium software on her laptop to reveal to the team that Marotine would be gazing directly at the Southern Cross constellation on the spring equinox around 10,400 BCE.

 

In the morning the team travels to nearby Flock Hill on horseback to view a calendar stone. Very little of this site has been explored and our archeo-astronomer is very excited to explore this stone’s celestial alignment. Using the Stellarium computer program, the angle of this particular stone reveals the Southern Cross on the spring equinox around 14,800 BC along a vertically aligned Milky Way. Even more astounding is the discovery that around 12,400 BCE the constellation of Orion aligned with this disk at the winter solstice. Many monoliths on Flock hill as well as Prebble Hill are notable examples astronomical importance, cultural significance and spiritual power.

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The team visit the final grouping of monoliths in Te Kuhanga the basin below Prebble Hill. Looking around at Te Kuhanga, the Waitaha storyteller explains that this basin is called the Sacred Nest. The geologist concurs that in ancient times this nest would have been surrounded by deep waters making this place into an island in the middle of an ancient lake. The team explore alignments and wisdom imparted to acolytes of ancient times.

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Before leaving this Birthplace of the Gods, John Paul and our indigenous guide take the team into Cave Stream. As the team members don wetsuits, the geologist explains the formation of this limestone cave. With powerful lighting gear the group follows the passage as it meanders and twists in pitch darkness for 362 metres between two entrances. The spirits of this place are ancient. Some are faeries who explain that they still exist in remote parts of this land. The team ascends a 3-metre high waterfall at the end of the cave. A ladder of iron rungs in the rock climbs up beside the waterfall and a chain and step help the team crawl along the overhang ledge to the exit. 

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Week two sees the team following the trail of the faerie folk to TeKoutu Pa on the shore of Lake Okataina on the North Island of New Zealand. The team is joined by a North Island indigenous story keeper. This lake is home to hundreds of small cave-like homes carved into the land. The indigenous team member shares stories of the faerie folk with the team. They are called Patupaiarehe and are regarded as supernatural beings. They have light skin and red or blond hair. They build their homes in the ground as well as above ground in stone forts and are active mainly in the twilight hours or when the mist is heavy enough to shield them from sight. They are known for playing kōauau and pūtōrino (flutes).

 

The team members explore these small cave homes. On all fours, they crawl in and out as they are built well below head height. Who were these little people? Curiously, this site is only an hour’s drive from the now famous Hobbiton movie set.  As the team consider the information from the spirits the geologist explains the history of the lake and the composition of the land that makes these small dwellings possible.

 

Before the week is out, there is one more location of strange structures for the team to explore. The team heads to the edge of the Kaimanawa Forest. This is the site of great controversy. Known as the Kaimanawa Wall. Many academics believe this to be a naturally occurring geological formation. The geologist shows the team the physical evidence that suggests this is something other than a naturally occurring formation. This exposed row of large stones show smooth edges inset blocks and perfect corners resembling the kind of cyclopean masonry that can be observed at ancient sites in Peru and Egypt.  

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Related to this construction is another site of controversy in the Waipoua Forest. An archaeological dig in 1983 uncovered incised obelisks, petroglyphs, standing stone circles, circular stone mounds and stone-lined waterways. The New Zealand government closed the research after only one year and has sealed the findings until the year 2063. The site has been leased for the planting of timber. Luckily for the team, that timber is now at harvesting age leaving many of these stone ruins exposed.

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It takes the better part of two days for the team to find, measure and communicate with this ancient construction. The Geologist examines the stones and shares information about their properties. Indigenous stories have much to share about life during the time this structures was built. The geologist and archeo-astronomer measure electromagnetic frequencies and chart alignments of these structures. These ruins bear a striking similarity to the stone ruins John Paul will soon explore in South Africa. The team discusses the controversy and what seems likely or not, regarding the history of the Waitaha people and the findings in Waipoua Forest.

 

The team gathers at Tāne Mahuta, the God of the Forest, a giant Kauri tree estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old to reflect on the history, magic and power of this land and to thank the spirits for sharing so much wisdom and information. Connecting with this ancient tree the team offers thanks and blessings for this guardian of Te Ika-a-Māui. The knowledge from each of the team member's explorations has definitely changed the accepted history of New Zealand and perhaps the entire timeline of humankind.