The Moa Cave Novel Study

The Moa Cave is a novel written by New Zealand author Des Hunt. Like of all of Des' novels the reader is taken on the journey of solving a mystery where things are never as straight forward as they seem.
 
This novel is set at the bottom of the South Island, New Zealand. When Tyler Matthews wins a national ecological competition for a week-long Nature South Eco Tour, he has no idea how much his life will change.
 
Tyler joins two other winners, Hine and Mandy, and soon finds himself caught in a maze of intrigue and adventure. Someone is rustling cattle and maybe selling dolphin meat. When Tyler finds the mummified remains of a moa hunter in a secret cave he also finds an ancient mystery. Who was the dead boy and how did he die — and what is the significance of his stone/fossil pendant?
 
In a fast-paced and exciting story Tyler, Hine and Mandy must put aside their differences to solve the mystery of the disappearing dolphins — and stay alive when a game of dare goes dangerously wrong!
 
The novel study includes a range of reading comprehension skills, tier 2 and 3 vocabulary and meaningful follow-up activities that encourage the reader to do more than just read the novel. It is aimed at students in years 7-9 and will take 3-5 weeks to complete.