Whenua
Makarore
Makarore is the correct spelling for the Makarora River which flows into the northern end of Lake Wānaka. Manga, or maka in the Kāi Tahu dialect, means stream.
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Makarore is the correct spelling for the Makarora River which flows into the northern end of Lake Wānaka. Manga, or maka in the Kāi Tahu dialect, means stream.
Read MoreMĀTAKITAKI is the correct spelling for the Matukituki River, which flows from Kā Tiritiri-o-te-moana (the Southern Alps) into the west side of Lake Wānaka.
Read MoreTamatea is the Māori name for Dusky Sound in Te Rua-o-Te-Moko (Fiordland). One of the most complex of the many fiords along the coastline, it is also one of the largest. The large island of Mauikatau (Resolution Island) is located near its entrance, and Taumoana (Five Fingers Peninsula) shelters the mouth of the sound from the northwest.
Read MoreWaiariki (Stevenson’s Arm) is the picturesque stretch of water in Lake Wānaka between Parakārehu (Stevenson’s Peninsula) and the mainland. In 1844, the southern Ngāi Tahu leader Te Huruhuru drew Waiariki on a map for government agent Edward Shortland, who misinterpreted Waiariki as a separate lake.
Read MoreTe Wehi-a-Te-Wera is the Māori name for The Neck, the long, narrow peninsula at the entrance to Te Whaka-a-Te-Wera (Paterson Inlet) at Rakiura (Stewart Island). The name refers to the well-known Ngāi Tahu tipuna, Te Wera, who escaped to Rakiura following a series of inter-tribal conflicts in Otago.
Read MoreMoturau is the correct Māori name for Lake Manapōuri in Te Rua-o-te-Moko (Fiordland). Roto-Ua is an earlier name for the lake, and was given by the Waitaha explorer Rākaihautū when digging the lake with his kō, on account of the persistent rain that troubled his party here. Puhiruru (Rona Island) is the island in the…
Read MoreRuapuke Island, 15 kilometres southeast of Awarua (Bluff), guards the eastern approaches to Te Ara-a-Kiwa (Foveaux Strait). This 1600 hectare island was the location of a major Ngāi Tahu settlement in the 19th century, and was the home of the great southern chief Tūhawaiki and his successor Topi Pātuki.
Read MoreIn 1863 Dr James Hector recruited Henare Paramata and five other Māori guides for his Fiordland expedition. On 26 August 1863 Paramata guided Hector into Whakatipu Waitai, where they were looked after by Tūtoko and his whānau. The snowy peak of Mount Tūtoko, which was named by Hector, can be seen in the background.
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