Te Ahua Point, Piha, Auckland

Walk #192 8th April 2026

The lookout is situated between Karekare and Piha beaches. The views weren’t great, we couldn’t see Lion Rock because cyclone Vaianu was on its way from Fiji.

We didn’t realise at first we were walking on a pa site related to the ancient Turehu. The inhabitants of this ancient pa lived on the cliffs either from fear of people or fear of a tsunami.

The full name of Te Ahua Point is ‘Te Ahua O Hinerangi.’ Hinerangi was a Turehu ancestress. A pou (carved pole) dedicated to a descendant of the same name looks out toward the Tasman Sea. This Hinerangi died of a broken heart after losing her husband to a rogue wave while fishing on the rocks at Piha.

The info board maintains the site was one of those chosen by the ancestors of Te Kawau a Maki who lived here for its position and proximity to Hikurangi. Hikurangi was the name given to the main mountainous range that formed part of Te Wao nui a Tiwa, the great forest of Tiriwa. Tiriwa was the chief of the Waitakere Turehu.

The ancestors of Te Kawau a Maki are the Turehu, a pre-Maori people. Their hair colours ranged from white and dull-golden, with red being predominant in the general population. There were also shades of brown through to black. Braided samples of this multi-coloured hair (taken from the Waitakere rock shelters) used to be on display at Auckland War Memorial Museum and were written about by Maori Historian, Sir Peter Buck.

There is more about the Turehu here, under the heading ‘Waitakere Turehu, Auckland‘ …

The Pre Waka Peoples, Patupaiarehe and Turehu

There is a radar station at the site. In 1948 two pioneering radio astronomers determined for the first time the source of radio waves from outside the solar system. The radio signals were identified as coming from three stars, Taurus-A, Centaurus-A and Virgo-A. Taurus-A is the remnant of the famous Crab Nebula, a super nova in the constellation of Taurus which exploded in 1054 AD.

Walk: Auckland 21

Links

Clues about the ancient inhabitants of Te Ahua Pa

Te Kawerau

About 15 years before Captain James Cook arrived, Ngati Whatua took over the Tamaki isthmus by warfare (note: Maori land ownership kept changing as tribes grew stronger) and yet even then, the Kawerau in the Waitakere’s were still recognised as the iwi whenua of the Waitakere when others such as the Maruiwi and Waiohua became extinct or absorbed into Ngati-Whatua, (In effect, they became the same as Maori absorbed into European bloodlines today – if you think about it!). The remnants of the Kawerau lived in Mahurangi and Omaha after these times. Source: The Kawerau

“Te Kawerau ā Maki are a West Auckland-based iwi. Our origins arise through whakapapa to the first human inhabitants of the land – the Tūrehu, and descent from the early migratory people to settle the region, such as the Tini ō Maruiwi and Te Tini ō Toi, to the arrival of the Tainui, Aotea, Moekakara, Tokomaru, Kahuitara, and Kurahaupo canoes in the 14th century, and the Ngati Awa, Ngāoho, and Ngāiwi people who occupied the wider area prior to 1600.” Source: Te Kawerau a Maki

Te Henui Walkway

Walk #187 Te Henui Walkway, 21st Feb 2026

This walkway follows the Te Henui river. It was a serene stroll rich in history. The first thing we learned was the meaning of Te Henui.

To Maori, warfare was both an integral part of their political system and a response to offenses or crimes of any kind. Between the late 1700s and early 1800s the tribes of the Taranaki region were in regular conflict with various tribes from the Waikato region.

According to the story that has been handed down through generations it was during an expected battle with Waikato that the Henui stream was given its name.

The Taranaki iwi travelled along the coast to help defend the local Atiawa tribe from Waikato which was nearing their boundaries. They arrived around nightfall and headed towards Te Henui. Scouts from Te Atiawa saw them and mistook them for the enemy. Intense hand to hand conflict erupted in the dark from one riverbank to the other. It wasn’t until daylight that each party realised they were fighting their own allies. There were significant losses experienced on both sides.

Hence the meaning of Te Henui, “the big mistake.”

There are two pa sites on the walk. The first was Pukewarangi, crowned with some pines, which we explored.

The second was Parihamore, a pa site further along the path.

During the 18th century a beautiful young woman named Urukinaki resided at Parihamore Pa. She attracted attention from men all over Taranaki including Potaka, a chief of the Puketapu hapu from the Bellblock area.

Urukinaki considered Potaka too old and ugly and was not the least bit interested in him. Angry and insulted, Potaka laid siege to Parihamore. The siege dragged on until starvation was imminent and Urukinaki surrendered for the sake of her tribe.

Crossing the path underneath the Cumberland Street Bridge we walked back along the other side of the stream.

The path led past the other side of the Parihamore pa site to the historic Te Henui cemetery and from there it rejoined the path along the stream.

Walk: Taranaki 5

The walk was busy at times with cyclists who I can’t always hear on the path, but I rate it as a solid four.

Links

Te Henui Vicarage
Associated with the earliest period of European settlement in New Plymouth, the vicarage is one of the relatively few buildings in New Plymouth that was not demolished during the Taranaki Wars, signifying the esteem that the building had also with local Maori.

Te Henui Walkway: Explore New Plymouth’s Scenic 2-Hour Riverbank Trail

Soldier’s grave; one of the graves we looked at.

Capt. AR Close 43 Regt. Killed Warea July 1865, circa 1860, maker unknown. Purchased 1916. Te Papa (O.012378)

Taranaki has a complicated past – you can read the history here from an earlier walk:
Pukekura Park / Brooklands Park, New Plymouth

Awatetaki Pa, Taranaki

Walk #185, Waitangi Day 6th Feb 2026

This pa is ringed on three sides by a high defensive ditch and the Waitara River on the fourth. There’s a second ditch inside the first. The ditches are so well constructed that even now, centuries later it’s still impressive. Food pits called ‘rua’ are still visible, despite being covered by centuries of leaf litter.

The way in is not very welcoming as there’s a screen of kawakawa bushes, but once you’re through it’s easy to walk around. There are karaka trees throughout the site and a big totara tree that would have been growing there when the site was still occupied.

The track begins at a farm on the end of Ngatimaru road. You can park near the farm shed. The track is over farmland marked by an orange trail marker.

Walk: Taranaki 3

History

Archaeological mapping of Awa-te-Take Pa and Ngangana Pa, Taranaki

I don’t know who built the pa – there are no info boards. The only clue is the name of Ngatimaru road.

Ngati Maru.

Ngati Maru descend from an ancient Taranaki people known as the Kāhui-Maru, whose genealogy predates the arrival of the explorer Toi. Kahui means a flock, a name which is only applied to the tangata-whenua people. (Source: Tangata Whenua – The ancient inhabitants of Taranaki)

Ngāti Maru were not involved in the land dealings which led to war in Taranaki in 1860, and were not directly involved in the subsequent fighting. Source: Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Claims Settlement Act 2022

The Musket Wars

Taranaki was a fertile land that was home to 8 Māori tribes before it was devastated by the Waikato invasions that began in 1817. It would be left almost uninhabited for the next seven years before European colonisation began in 1841.

Video: The Devastation of Taranaki

And here’s another video about Taranaki by Kiwi Codger.
In this podcast Kiwi Codger critiques the New Zealand Herald article on the destruction of Parihaka in South Taranaki. Like much of our news today, it presents good information out of context, and reinforces negative impressions of the colonization of New Zealand. He also outlines the importance of accessing all the factual information available, and describe where you can find many of the early books, diaries, and official records in order to form your own informed opinions. Be sure to check out Kiwi Codger’s YouTube videos on the Musket Wars. I’ve just summarized what happened; Kiwi Codger brings it to life!

The Modern Legacy of Parihaka – How to Deceive by Telling the Truth

Omanawa Falls, Tauranga

Walk #182, 20th December 2025

This is the prettiest waterfall I have ever seen. A weir above the falls diverts some of the river through a power station so the falls are greatly diminished from their original power. Even so the area has still maintained its natural beauty.

Omanawa Falls was the first underground hydro-generating power station in the country and entire southern hemisphere. It was constructed in 1913-1915 for the city of Tauranga, which at that time had a population of around 1500 people .

Ngati Hangarau, the tribe who are kaitieke (guardians) of the area hold the river and falls as a sacred place.

There are three different viewpoints. We saw the falls from two of the lookouts but didn’t do the third, the Te Harikoa Lookout at the base of the falls. It would have taken an extra 662 stairs and 40 minutes; time we didn’t have.

What we did see was wonderful, a single drop waterfall in front of a cave, surrounded by native bush with the water splashing into a sapphire coloured pool.

As well as native birds the pekapeka, long tailed bats, have been recorded flying around the Omanawa Valley.

There’s a cafe at the car parking area near the start of the track.

Walk: Bay of Plenty 9

McClaren Falls is nearby.

Related walk

McClaren Falls

Links

The earliest people known to have lived in the Tauranga area are the Purukupenga, whose name alone survives, and the Ngamarama, who inhabited all the land from the Waimapu Stream to the Kaimai ranges. So numerous were these people that when the Tainui canoe passed through the Tauranga harbour, she made only a brief stay.
Source: Tauranga Local History

Ngati Hangarau, the guardians of the area, are a sub-tribe of Ngati Ranginui of the Takitimu canoe.

Omanawa Falls

Ngāti Hangarau Hapū Trust Chair Koro Nicholas
explains Te Toka Mauri stone at Te Rere o Ōmanawa –
Ōmanawa Falls site blessing.

Source: Tauranga City, Reopening of Te Rere o Ōmanawa, or, Ōmanawa Falls, 2023 (Event)

Horoure Pa, Aotea, Waikato

Walk #176, 17th November 2025

This old pa site at Aotea Harbour was right at the doorstep of the place where we stayed for two nights. The harbour in front of the pa was named after the Aotea canoe which is said to have arrived around 1300.

The Tainui canoe arrived about 50 years later and the people from that canoe settled at nearby Kawhia, just down the coast. The Tainui and Aotea tribes lived in harmony until the 1600s when battles started because the Kawhia people were expanding.

The two tribes united when their rohe (area) came under attack around 1800 from inland Tainui. The defeated people fled south to take refuge in pa still controlled by Te Rauparaha, trekking to Taranaki and then on to Horowhenua.

For a long time after their defeat this pa site was left empty, until the defeat of Waikato by Ngapuhi at Matakitahi in 1826 when survivors from that conflict settled here.

The book said it was an easy climb to the top – no it wasn’t. The long grass came half way up my body and it was impossible walking through it. Plus there was some dead gorse in the midst of the vegetation. I did not want to disappear into an old kumera pit so I called it a day and came back down.

The pa site is not a “wahi tapu,” a sacred locality like part of the foreshore – but when I gained the ridge I felt I shouldn’t be up there.

Walk: 26 Waikato and King Country

Links

King Country places

Flagstaff Hill, Russell

Walk 6th Sept 2011

While it’s winter time I’m posting some walks we did years ago. The walks on this page were at Russell / Kororareka in the Bay of Islands. We’ve been to Russell twice, the first time was in early spring of 2011 when we took the ferry across from Paihia. The second visit was in the late winter of 2015, and this time I walked from Okiato near the car ferry at Opua. Despite the lawlessness of the area, for a short time in 1845 Okiato was the site of NZ’s first capital.

Russell began life as Kororareka, and it was a wild town full of whalers, grog shops, brothels and a Maori Pa belonging to Ngapuhi chief Hone Heke.

Tensions grew between the Maori and the British over the imposition of duties and tarrifs. Inspired by talk of revolution by the Americans, in 1844 Hone hacked down a flag pole he’d formerly given the British. When it was replaced in 1845 he cut it down again and actually flew the US flag from his waka (canoe).

To provide further context to the issue, according to the 19th century Pakeha Maori F.E. Maning (see links below) the Maoris associated the British flag with the lack of trade and high-prices. When the duties and tarrifs came off after the first flagpole was chopped down, it resulted in goods becoming affordable again. In the Maori mind, stopping the British flag from flying solved the problem.

The fourth time the flagpole was erected in 1845, the lower portion was clad in iron, but that did not stop Hone from cutting it down yet again – and to follow it up he sacked the town, burning down many buildings including the Duke of Marlborough Hotel.

The Duke of Marlborough Hotel was quickly rebuilt after being burned down and the establishment has been running ever since. We had lunch in the historic dining room overlooking the waterfront during our week’s stay at Okiato in 2015.

Christ Church is the oldest surviving church in NZ. It actually has bullet holes from the Battle of Kororareka. Hone Heke told his warriors to leave the church standing but its old timbers still bear the scars from the battle. It has a historic graveyard that we walked through. Among the graves in the churchyard are those of Tamati Waka Nene (a Ngapuhi chief largely responsible for the Maori’s acceptance of the Treaty of Waitangi and who fought for the settlers against Hone Heke), members of the Clendon family (James R Clendon was the first honorary United States Consul), and the men from the HMS Hazard who fell in the battle.

We went to a church service on the Sunday we were there in the winter of 2015. That was special. There was no minister, the parishioners kept the church running by themselves. After qualifiying for a degree in theology from an institution in Melbourne they all took turns at preaching. The hymns were played by MP3 through a sound system. We were impressed at their commitment and quiet ‘can do’ attitude. I met a great-granddaughter of Hone Heke at that church, she was a very elegant and well spoken woman.

On our first trip to Russell in 2011 we visited Flagstaff Hill. We strolled along the historic waterfront and then climbed the path through regenerating bush to the hill overlooking the town. A new flagstaff was erected in 1857 as an act of reconciliation by those involved in cutting down the old flagpole and it still stands today.

Back then on our first visit we were more interested in the panoramic views of Russell, Paihia, Waitangi and the islands of the Bay. Our interest in NZ history came from later walks.

Walk 4th August 2015

This was the walk from Okiato to Russell / Kororareka I did in 2015. The exercise was ruined after eating and drinking decadent chocolate at the Newport Chocolate shop in Russell. The chocolate was worth every calorie!

Orongo Bay on the walk impressed me the most, with its mangrove boardwalk and Mt Tikitikioure, a small mount rising 180m above the bay. The hill once belonged to a local chief named Ure and it meant ‘Ure’s top-knot. The Maori people there used a blue pigment found deep in the mountain for painting their faces. It turned out be be manganese which was mined until 1887.

Walk: Northland 12

Walks relating to Hone Heke:

Hone Heke Memorial Park, Kaikohe Hill

Ruapekepeka Pa, Northland

Links

Doc – Flagstaff Hill Track, Russell

Old New Zealand: A Tale of the Good Old Times by Frederick Edward Maning. This book written by Maning, a Pakeha Maori, gives an insight into the time surrounding the war against Hone Heke in 1845. After the battle the maori were plundering the town “because they believed the fight was over, and the people were only quietly plundering the town which had been left for them, and which they had given fair payment for.”

That custom was called ‘muru,’ to plunder, confiscate, take ritual compensation – an effective form of social control, restorative justice and redistribution of wealth among relatives. The process involved taking all the offending party’s goods. The party that had the muru performed on them did not respond by seeking utu.

“At last, all the town people and soldiers went on board the ships, and then the ship of war fired at the Maori people who were plundering in the town. The noise of the firing of the ship guns was very great, and some of Kawiti’s people were near being hit by the lumps of iron. This was not right, for the fight was over … so in revenge they burnt Kororareka, and there was nothing left but ashes ; and this was the beginning of the war.”

Orokawa Bay, Bay of Plenty

Walk #170, 25th May 2025

The track to Orokawa Bay starts at the northern end of Waihi Beach. Orokawa Bay is a perfect, unspoilt beach overhung by ancient Pohutukawa trees. A side track leads up to the 28m high William Wright Falls (30 minutes return) which we didn’t have time for.

The coastal stretch from Orokawa Bay to Homunga Bay is worth doing but we didn’t have time for that either, it would have been four hours return. The walk there and back to Waihi Beach was about 90 minutes.

We could see the Bowentown Heads walk we did in December 2024 in the distance.

There are two old pa sites in the area. Neither pa is named nor is there any signage. The area was devastated by Ngapuhi raids in the Maori Musket Wars. By the time the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840, few Maori remained.

Related walk:

Bowentown Heads

Links

OROKAWA BAY WALK

Orokawa Bay Track

Maungatautiri Ecological Island, Waikato

Walk #169, 23rd May 2025

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is an ancient volcano in the central Waikato. It’s the largest predator-fenced eco-sanctuary in the world.

The mountain has been recognised as a reserve since 1912. In 2001, the community came together to form the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) with the goal to restore and protect Maungatautari’s ecosystem. In 2002, the fence build got under way and by 2004 all mammals were eradicated from the initial two enclosures. The mountain is now completely enclosed by a pest-proof fence.

Our walk was through the Northern enclosure. We didn’t hear any birds, they are spread out over 3400 hectares and the forest is very old and tall. The only native bird we did see was a Kingfisher (Kotare) sitting on a fence post on our way in.

You have to park your car at the Maungatautiri Marae and walk for about 45 minutes to get to the actual walk, and the last part is steep. There’s a rope to help you up if needed. The walk inside the enclosure is about 35 minutes. So budget about two hours of time for the walk including the ‘there and back.’

History

The area has a long history of settlement. The first inhabitants, the indigenous Ngāti Kahupungapunga people, were annihilated by the Maori Raukawa tribe before the 16th century. The Tainui tribes Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Korokī still own lands on the slopes.

Walk: Waikato 10

Links

Te Ara, Story: Waikato places

Sanctuary Mountain, Maungatautiri

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“We are the largest predator-fenced eco-sanctuary in the world. A little fun fact: We are as big as Uluru in Australia and 10 times the size of Central Park [in New York],” SMM general manager Helen Hughes said.

Over the years, Maungatautari has become a sanctuary for endangered birds, native wildlife and plants.

Last year, SMM wrote history when it became home to a kākāpō population. It was the first time, kākāpō had been living on the mainland in 40 years.” Source: Waikato Herald, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari on the brink of closure due to financial struggle

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Kingfisher / Kotare

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Ngati Kahupungapunga | Some 400 years ago, they occupied all of the valley of the Waikato from Huntly to Taupo and Rotorua. They had many settlements along the Waikato River, including Karapiro.

Related walks:

Lake Okataina, Rotorua Lakes District

Mount Pohaturoa, Atiamuri

Hakarimata Reserve, Huntly

Waikanae River Estuary and Beach

Walk #168, 19th May 2025

This is a small estuary, prolific with birds despite the close proximity of housing. The walk goes over a swing bridge and along the banks of the Waikanae River to the Waimanu Lagoons. There we were treated to a special sight, a white heron (kotuku) who lives at the lagoon. The bird is so rare that the Maori have a saying, “He Kotuku rerenga tahi,” “a Kotuku’s flight is seen but once.”

The beach is only a short walk from the lagoon, where we watched the sun set over Kapiti Island, 5 kms offshore.

Walk: Kapiti 33

History

Te Uruhi, a former pa site at Waikanae, was one of three ancient pa sites mentioned in the book ‘THE ART WORKMANSHIP OF THE MAORI RACE IN NEW ZEALAND,’ published in 1896. Elsdon Best wrote, “I have seen the remains of an old pa at Waikanae, called Te Uruhi, the fence of which has been a mile in circumference.”

Unfortunately the site would have been obliterated by developer’s bulldozers.

The Waitaha, first inhabitants

“Archaeological and ethnographical research suggests that Waikanae may have been first inhabited by the Waitaha moa-hunters as early as a thousand years ago.” The Waitaha people were replaced by successive waves of settlement of the Ngāti Apa, Rangitāne and Muaūpoko iwi (tribal groups).

Source: Wikipedia:

Te Rauparaha

In the 1820s the infamous Maori leader of Ngāti Toa, Te Rauparaha, moved into the area and based himself at Kapiti Island.

In this 1840s image of Te Rauparaha, he wears a feather in his hair and a pōhoi (feather-ball earring). Te Rauparaha is famous for the role he played during the musket wars.

Source: Te Ara

In 1824, Waikanae Beach was the embarkation point for a force of 2,000 to 3,000 fighters from coastal iwi, who assembled with the intention of taking Kapiti Island from the Ngāti Toa led by Te Rauparaha. Crossing the strait in a fleet of waka canoes under shelter of darkness, the attackers were met and destroyed as they disembarked at the northern end of Kapiti Island.

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Te Āti Awa of Wellington

In the 1820s the Taranaki tribes iwi Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Maru Wharanui began moving to the Kapiti area after being driven south by Waikato tribes in the Maori Musket Wars. The tribes moved back to Taranaki in 1848 but some Atiawa iwi remained in the Kapiti area. Source: Te Āti Awa of Wellington

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The Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve

The Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve is a nationally–significant reserve located at the mouth of the Waikanae River. The reserve was established in 1987 to protect the large number of bird species that use the area.

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Thomas the goose

Here’s something funny and sweet – a local story about a goose called Thomas who lived at the Waimanu Lagoons from 1970 to 2018.

“Thomas had a relationship with a male black-feathered swan, Henry, for approximately 18 to 24 years until a female swan, Henrietta, joined them. Thomas initially attacked the pair, which included breaking two of the five eggs that Henrietta had laid. But once the remaining eggs had hatched, he became friendly and helped raise them. Henry could not fly because he had an injured wing, so Thomas helped teach the cygnets to fly.

Thomas was left alone when Henry died in 2009 and Henrietta flew away with another swan. Thomas later met a female goose and had his own offspring, for the first time, in 2011. The offspring were then taken by another goose. After going blind and getting attacked by swans, he was moved in 2013 to the Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust in Ohariu, and stayed there until his death in 2018. A plaque was placed at the lagoon to remember him.” Source: Wikipedia

Links

We stopped at the Southward Car Museum on the road to the Waikanae Estuary walk. It’s well worth a visit.

Waikanae Link Track

Kotuku, White heron

White heron making most of Waikanae Beach before departure

Thomas (goose)

Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti History : The earliest accounts of Te Ātiawa ki Kāpiti go back to the Kāhui Mounga Collective that had spread itself from Taranaki and the Central Plateau region through to Te Ūpoko o te Ika. During this time, further waves of migrations occurred.

Two of these migrations began with the arrival of the following waka to Taranaki; Te Kahutara, Taikōria and Okoki.

The names of these iwi were Te Tini-a-Taitāwaro, Te Tini-a-Pananehu, Tamaki, and Te Tini-o-Pohokura, names after four brothers who led their people to Aotearoa.

Karaka Point Walk, Picton, Marlborough Sounds

Walk #1, Easter Saturday 19th April 2025

This is our first South Island walk, an old pa site on a headland near Picton.

The pa was built by the Ngati Mamoe as a defensive pa as it was protected by cliffs, and they could see who was approaching from Queen Charlotte Sound. There’s now a fenced pathway down the once impregnable cliff-face.

The site is part of the Maori Musket Wars.

In 1829-30, Te Atiawa swept into the sound to attack the resident tribes who had never before met with muskets. As news of disastrous attacks elsewhere in the sounds (East Bay and Endeavour Inlet) was received from lucky escapees, large numbers of Rangitane and some of their Ngati Apa allies retreated to the pā at Karaka Point, believing it to be impregnable.

The attackers drew near in their canoes and started picking off the defending chiefs and warriors with their muskets. The defenders tried to escape up the hill but the hidden assailants in the scrub then joined in the attack, and the occupants of the pā were effectively ambushed and totally annihilated.

The pa was never again occupied. For some years the land on the deserted headland was cleared and farmed, but was later gifted to the nation and the site became a Scenic and Historic Reserve in 1953.

It was a place where terrible events occurred but the land overlooking the beautiful sound is peaceful now. The InterIsland ferry was cruising down the calm water of the Tory Channel just as we arrived at the reserve.

Walk: Marlborough, Picton 1

Notes

The Ngati Mamoe are an ancient tribe who were there before the explorer Kupe –

“Kupe and his people discovered people at various places. These people were the Mamoe, the Turehu, the Tahurangi, the Poke-pokewai, the Patupaiarehe, the Turepe and the Hamoamoa. They lived on the fronds and berries of the trees, and the roots of the earth.”

Source: Volume 28 1919 > Volume 28, No. 110 > The account of Kupe and Tainui, by George Graham, p 111-116

The Ngāti Māmoe were the original people on the Heretaunga Plains, Hawkes Bay but they were driven south by the Ngati Kahungunu.

Here’s a pa in Taradale, Hawkes Bay built by the Ngati Mamoe: Otatara Pa, Taradale, Hawkes Bay

In turn Ngati Mamoe displaced the Waitaha people, and later Ngati Mamoe were replaced by other tribes like Rangitane and Ngai Tahu.

Links

Karaka Point

Te Pokohiwi/Wairau Bar Heritage : Karaka Point

Rangitāne: At first Rangitāne lived in the Heretaunga (Hastings) area. Later, they travelled south and occupied Dannevirke, Wairarapa, Wellington, and Wairau in the South Island. They also moved west to Manawatū and Horowhenua, the tribe’s main centres today.

Ngāti Apa: The people of Ngāti Apa live in the Rangitīkei region, towards the south-west of the North Island of New Zealand. Their traditional lands extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanganui River in the north-west, and Manawatū River in the south-east.

There are eight tribes in the Top of the South Island