"Te Maero" is the second episode of the third series of Wellington Paranormal, and the fifteenth episode overall. It aired on 3 March 2021.
Synopsis[]
After finding footage of a camper being abducted by a large hairy creature, the cops decide to head for the bush...[1]
Plot Summary[]
A vlogger goes missing while camping in Remutaka Forest. Wellington Police recover his phone, which includes a video of him being dragged away from his tent at night by an unseen being. Sergeant Maaka suspects paranormal activity and brings officers O'Leary and Minogue to camp in the forest.
The Paranormal Unit arrive at the forest where the park ranger, Anton, gives them a contradictory account along with a drawing he made of a hairy humanoid being he claimed to have seen. The group find the tent, but not the camper, and Anton refuses to stay with them overnight to help as there will be a full moon and he might “murder” them. That night, the unit hold a meeting in their mobile headquarters. O’Leary and Minogue suspect Anton is the culprit and that he is a werewolf, based on his comment about the moon, and also because they had previously seen him turn into a werewolf in a documentary. Maaka however proposes that a variation of the Bigfoot mythos is to blame. The cops hear a noise outside and realise that someone has broken into their other tent and stolen all their food supplies.
The following night, the unit eat a soup they made from fungi and herbs found in the forest, and accidentally consume Psilocybin mushrooms. The three cops experience a drug trip, arrest each other and handcuff themselves together. The encounter what appears a Bigfoot, but it turns out to be Parker, who had wanted to join their mission, wearing a ghillie suit. A larger, similar looking creature appears and abducts Parker. Maaka realises it is a Maero and performs a haka to try to dissuade it. The Maero turns out to be a female who can speak English and Māori. She explains that she has travelled from far away to look for other members of her own kind, hopefully male, and is disappointed when the cops explain that Parker is a human. She admits to having eaten the missing camper and the unit ask Parker to arrest her. Angry, she hangs Parker from a tree and runs away, with the handcuffed cops unable to catch up with her. As dawn approaches, Anton finds the cops and they admit defeat.
Cast[]
- Mike Minogue as Officer Minogue
- Karen O'Leary as Officer O'Leary
- Maaka Pohatu as Sergeant Maaka
- Thomas Sainsbury as Constable Parker
- Rhys Darby as Anton - Park Ranger
- Tom Kereama as Te Maero
- Craig Durston as Bush Guy