The diary provides vivid accounts of contemporary events, as Garin came dangerously close to the action of the Northern War, and wrote of such prominent figures as Bishop Pompallier and of Hone Heke and Kawiti as they opposed the new colonial authorities. Above all, the diary is an intimate record of life in a Maori community in which Garin describes the close relationships he formed with his new neighbours - from his young followers and local families to the chiefs who offered him protection while he lived among them. This is the first full English translation of Garin's surviving Mangakahia journals and letters. Frank, open-minded and often humorous, Garin's diary is a major contribution to the early history of European settlement in Aotearoa and a compelling insight into Maori customs, values and beliefs of the time