Mysterious Creatures of Gondwana.

We have been finding out about how the insects and animals of Aotearoa evolved in isolation as the land mass became increasingly removed from any other.  Creatures like Pekapeka, the short tailed bat, Kiwi and Wētā were considered so strange by Māori that they were thought to have some connection to the underworld.  These are the Ghosts of Gondwana.


In our new base groups we collected some bugs from the surrounding bush and observed them closely with magnifying glasses.   We did observational drawings of these creatures including Wētā and then we used our imaginations; asking what could these creatures become?  Here are some of the ideas.

Wētā

Pūpū Harakeke

Monsters from the depths of the Gondwana Imagination!