Walk #101, 8th January 2023
Captain James Cook stopped here in 1769 as part of his circumnavigation of New Zealand. As well as it being historic, there’s a hole-in-the-wall which I didn’t get good photos of because of the rain.
Unfortunately we didn’t enjoy the walk as much as we could have, due to the weather. The country was being lashed by Cyclone Hale to the north and we got very wet.
This is what it’s like in fine weather:
Walk: Gisborne District #4
Links
History
Story: European discovery of New Zealand
Te Aitangi-a-Hauiti
Unlike the hostile and aggressive Gisborne (Turanga) Maori, this tribe welcomed Captain Cook. It was the first positive meeting between Maori and Pakeha. Te Aitangi-a-Hauiti acknowledges the time of Cook’s voyage as the pre-cursor of a dual heritage and shared future.
For centuries the iwi (tribe) of Te Aitangi-a-Hauiti has occupied Tolaga Bay. What’s interesting about this tribe is they’ve been in the land for so long they don’t have a waka (canoe). They trace their ancestry back to the famous ancestor Paikea, the whale rider from Hawaiki. They are part of Ngati Porou who date back to the legendary explorer Maui.
The story of Ngāti Porou lies in mythology, legend, oral tradition and historical record. Fundamental to the tribe’s history is the godlike figure of Māui-tikitiki-a-taranga. Māui is the ancestor who binds Ngāti Porou descendants to the beginnings of human existence. It was he who fished up the North Island from the ocean depths. This fantastic feat is commemorated in the songs and haka of Ngāti Porou.
They have a haka which celebrates the rising of the sacred mountain Hikurangi from the ocean depth, which goes, ‘Whakarongo ake ki te hīrea waha o Māui’ (Hearken to the faint call of the voice of Māui).
Maui on the left: “My power of authority derives from time immemorial.”
Here’s an interesting documentary from a tribal elder in the East Coast.
Waka Huia 2015 Anaru Kupenga, the tribal master who descends from Māui
MĀUI: He’s the tribal master who descends from the fairy people. Anaru Kupenga (Ngāti Māui) holds the tribal knowledge of his people and his theories could change how we think forever.
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