"The Whale Rider" by Witi Ihimaera.

The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera In the old days, the land and sea with its forests and animals felt a great emptiness, a yearning. They were waiting for the seeding, for the gifting, for the blessing to come. Suddenly, one day the first of the Ancients were coming in their canoes from their island kingdom beyond the horizon - Hawaiki. After a while, they returned to the east. The land and sea were relieved …

…Kahu and the whale together and together they manage to help each other. Kahu makes the whale realize that his life has a sense and that there is a future for him and his companions (Ihimaera 115). He then brings Kahu back to her people and tells her that she is needed and that she has to fulfil her destiny (Ihimaera 122). Even Koro Apirana then realizes that Kahu really is the descendant of Kahutia Te Rangi.