Notes

Summary: Rumour is flying around the West Coast gold fields that Tom McGee has struck it rich and found a nugget of gold as big as a man's fist. So no one is surprised when next his campsite is found wrecked and abandoned. Men have been killed for a lot less on the tough goldfields on the 1860s New Zealand. But one person is convinced Tom is not dead, his headstrong daughter, Charlotte. Solving the mystery is not her first task, through. First, she must get to the coast. A skillful horse rider, she disguises herself as a boy and joins a cattle drove across the Southern Alps. To survive the dangerous drove over Arthur's Pass, and to keep her identity hidden from vicious trail boss, she'll need the help of her dog, her horse, and her father's friend, Tama. She knows she can do it - she has to - but what will she find? And will her new American friend, Joseph, help or hinder her quest? Charlie is in for the ride of her life - and the stakes couldn't he higher. (Back cover)

New Zealand author

AWARDS:
Shortlisted for LIANZA Children's Book Awards: Esther Glen Medal for Junior Fiction 2013.