The Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour is about having fun discovering the history of Aotearoa New Zealand by finding sites of significance in local communities from early Pacific voyaging and migration, European settlement to present day. The interaction between people, and people and the land have provided a rich history that the GeoTour invites you to explore.

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Te Pāpaka Pā Site

This cache is part of the Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour (TMGT).

Te Pāpaka Pā is rich in Ngāti Awa history. Many important chiefs have lived at the site. The site is located on the ridge known as Taketake. The Waiewe Stream flows between Te Pāpaka and another pā site, Puketapu. To the east is a fortified pā site called Hauwai. The name Te Pāpaka, or crab, derives from a time when the renowned Ngāti Awa ancestor, Awanuiārangi, was gathering seafood at nearby Otawaha. His wife, Ahiahiotahu, remarked that his stance was like that of a crab crawling, so the pā became known as Te Pāpaka o Awanuiārangi, later shortening it to Te Pāpaka.

The Te Pāpaka Redoubt was built in 1869 on the pā site. It was garrisoned by military settlers (able-bodied men who were given land in frontier districts in return for fighting when required). It was erected following the looting and burning of Whakatāne in March 1869.

The redoubt is still well defined and the sweeping views over the Bay of Plenty and across to the Kaimai Ranges make this a great place for a picnic.

Accessed via a short walking track from Hillcrest Road, Whakatane. There is limited parking in Seaview Road.

To be able to complete this Geotour and receive your special geocoin, remember to take a note of the codeword on the log book of the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded from here. If the passport is unavailable for any reason just keep a note of the codeword and try again later.