Tākaro Tribe

If you should ever find yourself in the bush at night, or perhaps on a misty mountaintop at dusk, do keep an eye out for the patupaiarehe. According to Māori lore, these mysterious spiritual beings largely keep to themselves, but the few folk who have glimpsed them say they're human-like, with pale skin and fair hair - a strange sight indeed to pre-European Māori.

With their magical powers and hypnotic flute-playing abilities, it's no wonder that patupaiarehe, who are often described in English as woodland fairies or sprites, have captured the imagination of many over the years (a quick Google search will reward you with hours of intrigue). Nicole Hoey is one of them.

Hoey (Ngāti Kahu) is the founder of Cinco Cine Film Productions, an Auckland-based television production company with a big focus on te reo programming. An idea for a kids' show based in nature had been simmering away in her brain for some time, and - setting aside their less-cute attributes, like a penchant for abducting attractive wāhine and the foul stench some say they leave in their wake - patupaiarehe provided the perfect inspiration.