Living on the uninhabited coasts off New Zealand is the 200 million year old tuatara. Schoolboy Kyn Franks is to visit the Poor Knights islands with a group of zoologists to study the tuatara. The tuatara first caught world interest in 1867 when it was discovered that it was not a lizard but belonged to a time when reptiles covered the earth. The Tuatara is thought to have moved across land from the north by an early land connection before New Zealand became isolated 60 million years ago. Eventually New Zealand was separated by deep waters and no large carnivorous animals ever occupied the land. This made it possible for the tuatara to survive - as a living fossil! Within half an hour of arriving on the island, Kyn discovers a Gecko, and a large number of other interesting insects and bugs, including a giant weta. Everything possible is being done by the Wildlife Department to prevent the introduction of rats or carnivorous mammals likely to upset the delicate balance of nature on the islands, where it is still possible to discover new species. Eventually Kyn comes across the tuatara basking on a rock. Produced as part of the New Zealand Children's Film Series. With Dr. A.W.B. Powell as zoology consultant.