Visitors to Southern Land, Southern People are greeted by the Overlander – a life-size model of a Māori man dressed for overland travel in the sometimes adverse climate of southern New Zealand. A semi-circle of iconic southern objects surrounds the gallery entrance, including a distinctive Moeraki boulder, a mounted takahē and a gold nugget. Above your head, the night sky twinkles as it would have in October 950AD – the date, according to some traditions, of Māori arrival in New Zealand.

The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel (/ˈreɪtəl/ or /ˈrɑːtəl/),[3] is the only species in the mustelid subfamily Mellivorinae and its only genus Mellivora. It is native to Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Despite its name, the honey badger does not closely resemble other badger species; instead, it bears more anatomical similarities to weasels. It is classed as Least Concern rather than a threatened species by the IUCN owing to its extensive range and general environmental adaptations. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin and ferocious defensive abilities.