Green Sea: Lost in the New Zealand Bush

by John Summers

John Summers’ worst nightmare is getting lost in the bush.

He has always carefully – myopically, even – followed the track. Death lurks at the edge of his fear, as well as cold, hunger, loneliness and even humiliation. But what is the experience of being lost in the New Zealand bush actually like?

Summers talks to those who have survived – from a man who was found near death after 29 days in Kahurangi National Park to a woman who covered herself with earth to stay warm in the Orongorongo Valley. He explores what ‘lost’ really means, a metaphor for everything from addiction to a midlife crisis.

Part reportage, history and personal reflection, Green Sea looks closely at what keeps us going through the tangle of ordinary life – and at the mercies others show us when we feel most alone.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2026

Reviews

[Celeritas2 · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A series of essays as chapters some that work well, others not so much. Very quick read so that was good.

It was more about John writing a book than a book itself. I normally quite like that but there wasn't enough here to really hold it together.

If Naomi Arnold wrote this book it would have had the heft of her experience but John didn't seem to have enough to draw him to this subject and therefore cobbled together some odd bits and pieces.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was confused about its point. I was ready to hear about the experience of being lost in the Nz bush - I didn’t need the history of alzheimers or gossip about Bill Sutch and his first wife/dealings with the Russians. I wanted more of the bush stories.

[Adam McCallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not so much a retelling of those lost in the nz bush, but a journey to understand the vast differences between what people perceive as "being or becoming lost". John contemplates lost vs wayfinding and loneliness vs aloneless through conversations with people who have experienced all 4 states.

[A · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

There was a lot more navel gazing and thoughts on dementia than I was expecting. I was expecting/hoping for stories of being lost in the NZ bush. There were some of those but definitely not enough imo.