Des Hunt lives at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula. In recent years he has made the transition from writing textbooks for secondary students to novels for younger learners (shortlisted for NZ Post awards twice), while still maintaining his aims of fostering young peoples natural interest in the science of their surroundings. A widely respected figure in New Zealand educational circles, Des was a teacher for more than forty years before retiring from the classroom in 2006.