So deep was Aotearoa in the watery world of the Pacific that it remained for long unknown to Europeans, other than as an imagined part of the mythical great southern land, Terra Australis. Surely there had to be a continent in the South Pacific to balance the weight of land in the Northern Hemisphere? As it proved, there was not. New Zealand is immersed in the Pacific, surrounded for 2000 km by ocean, a fact that is reflected in Maori waka traditions. Only in the late eighteenth century did its full outline register in European consciousness through the process of physical discovery.

In 1500 no European had seen the world's largest ocean. Once they ventured into the Pacific, European sailors had great difficulty navigating its expanse, devoid of landmarks other than scattered islands and numerous uncharted reefs, and unpredictable in its treacherous currents, winds and weather. Geography and navigation remained uncertain. There were no reliable sea routes, other than within the narrow limits of latitude used by Spanish fleets from Acapulco in the Americas to Manila in Southeast Asia. For two centuries Europeans criss-crossed the Pacific Ocean along this track without charting the southern continent that they assumed awaited their discovery.