Cry of the Taniwha

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• Matt is a 12-year old boy.
• He has come to live in Rotorua with his grandparents.
• His Mum is sick in hospital and thinks it would be better for him to go to his grandparents.

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• Matt meets Jackson from next door.
• Jackson is a bit of a wild child and wants to be part of a gang.
• But Hone is worried about Jackson and wants Matt to help keep Jackson entertained and out of trouble.

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• Matt and Jackson find a mud pit.
• At the mud pit they find body and locket buried beneath a tree
• There is also a Taniwha in the tree guarding the forest.

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• When they go to the hardware store to get some loppers to cut the roots surrounding the skeleton
• But when Jackson comes out with them he says he stole them.
• However, Matt persuades him to go back and pay for them

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• They tell the police about it and they investagate the scene and find out it is the body of a man who died in the Tarawera eruption

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• Matt meets Eve, an Australian girl.
• She joins Matt in the investigation, vowing to research details of the mysterious skeleton.
• She is nicknamed, 'Sherlene Homes'.

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• At a second site, Matt finds a strong box.
• Jackson tells the WXF gang.
• They open the box

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• The strong box has a number of useful geological artifacts which are of no interest to the WXF gang but are interest to Geologists and the local museum.

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• After opening the strong box, Skulla and the gang put pressure on on Matt to find jewels that they believe are buried in the forest near where the skeleton lay.

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• Matt finds a candle holder and decides to keep it for a souvenir for his discovery.
• He puts it on his bed side table where he thinks it is safe

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• Matt finds gold sovereigns.
• The sovereigns and Matt's metal detector are stolen by the Gawk.

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• In a high speed chase, Jackson and Matt overpower the Gawk and reclaim their belongings.

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• At a visit to the museum Matt notices that Jackson has become calmer and more responsible.

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• He goes to see Eve but it is super busy and filled with geoligists who are there for a three day conference.

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• Matt and Eve find a secret compartment in the candle holder.
• They find a bag of diamonds inside the candle holder

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• The Tarawera eruption happened and Diz was killed but Matt, Jackson, Skulla, and Eve survived.

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• Jackson's hoodie saved Jackson's life in the eruption because it was so thick that the hot mud could not get through.

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• Matt, Eve, Skulla, and Jackson go into hospital with their injuries.

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• Matt's candle holder is stolen along with Nan's cooking.

Cry of the Taniwha