Gary Cook

Journeys into the Mystery

This chronicle of personal journeys, engages and surprises, provokes and excites, and opens doors that help us stand taller in the spirit of this land. It is not a hard-edged history, not a dusty, dry exploration, but a tantalising, living journey into the  magical landscape that is Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Journeys into the Mystery

ISBN 0-9582040-8-X

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This second book in New Zealander Gary Cooks Secret Land series is a captivat­ing collection of writings first published in the magazine Rainbow News between August 1997 and November 2001. Titled Journeys into the Mystery, they explore his travels to and experiences in sacred places in New Zealand’s North and South Islands, as well as a couple of forays into key ancient sites in England and Canada.
Cook, a researcher, health professional, businessman, explorer and author who also heads up a group called the United Cultural Convention, has a passion for getting to the core of New Zealand’s hidden history. His links with various tribal elders, including the people of Waitaha—who trace their whaka­papa or genealogy back through 67 genera­tions—helped facilitate his visits to a num­ber of sacred places. His main mission is to reconnect with the spirit of tangata whenua, the first people of the land who may in fact have comprised a collection of races, even preceding the arrival of the first Maori tribes. Indeed, his every move seems to be heralded by sacred natural omens.
He writes of his expeditions to the Kaimanawa Wall, an hour’s drive from Taupo in the central North Island, to the star maps of Maunganui Bluff in Northland, as well as to the sea gardens at Punakaiki and the greenstone trail in the South Island. He uncovers maps written in stone, charts pow­erful standing stones marking out ley lines, and senses the cosmic sonic properties of the imposing limestone tor, Castle Hill—an ancient gathering-place of learning and wis­dom. Gary Cook is part of a new wave of researchers, historians and anthropologists who are rewriting the mainstream version of NZ “prehistory”. He imparts a special atmosphere in his travelogues, supporting each chapter with at least one stunning colour photograph (if only there were more!). I can hardly wait for the video!

Nexus Magazine Vol 10, No 4, June - July 2003