Children of The Dog Star was broadcast in the mid 1980s when I would have been around 10. It was one of a number of dark, quite superior children's shows that were being made at time - Chooky, Dark Season, Moondail, Aliens In The Family, The Lion, The Witch...etc.
I think it appealed to me because aside from being a sci-fi nut as a kid, during those long summer breaks, with a lot more fields to explore, and with a different perspective on the world (when it was not raining!), I could identify with the main character and her sense of curiousity and restlessness.
But of course this vacation will be different for this young adventurer and her friends. Something is buried in these swamps near her uncle's farm - sacred Maori lands earmarked for destruction by the greedy and unscrupulous; much like today's open spaces- something that is ancient and not made of wood or stone...and not of this Earth.
CODS is dark, mysterious and multi layered and is a must if you can remember those school holidays that are gone forever, when the world seemed new...and at some indeterminate point was somehow never quite the same again.