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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From the location of this cache you can see both ocean and harbour. The first European ship to sail up the entrance below you to the Tauranga Harbour was the Missionary schooner “Herald “. Judge Wilson in his Sketches of Ancient Māori Life and History records that the canoe Tākitumu carrying immigrants from Hawaiiki arrived in approximately 1290 AD and found Te Awanui (as Tauranga was then named) in the possession of a tribe of aborigines whose name, Puru Kopenga, testified to the rich harvest to be drawn from the surrounding waters.
In November 1769, Captain James Cook passed close to Tauranga but did not enter the harbour.
Captain Drury in HMS Pandora surveyed and charted the coast and harbour in 1853.
Today Tauranga is the largest Port in New Zealand. Over time the channels and entrance have been deepened and widened in places to allow for larger vessels. The Port boasts in excess of a hundred cruise ships a year.
Enjoy the expansive vistas from here and think back to what it would have been like in times gone by.The best way to get to this cache is NOT up the fence line ...please go to the trail head co ords..it is much easier
This is the Legend of MAUAO
There was once a hill with no name who lived on the edge of the Hautere forest. This nameless one was a pononga (slave) to the great chiefly mountain, Otānewainuku. To the southwest was the shapely form of Puwhenua, a beautiful hill, clothed in all the fine greens of the ferns and shrubs and trees of the forest of Tane.
The nameless one was desperately in love with Puwhenua. However, her heart already belonged to Otānewainuku. There seemed like no hope for the lowly slave. In despair the nameless one decided to end it all by drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean, Te Moananui a Kiwa. Calling on the patupaiarehe, the people with magical powers who dwelled in the forests of Hautere, pononga asked them to plait the ropes with their magic and then haul him down towards the ocean. Chanting their song they began to haul the nameless one slowly towards the water, gouging out the valley where the river Waimapu now flows. They followed the channel past Hairini, past Maungatapu and Matapihi and finally past Te Papa to the water's edge.
By this time it was very close to day break. The sun rose fixing the nameless one to that place. Being people of the night, the patupaiarehe fled back to the shady depths of the Hautere forests, before the light of the sun descended upon them.
The patupaiarehe gave the name Mauao to this mountain which marks the entrance of Tauranga Moana. This means caught by the morning sun. In time, he has assumed greater mana than his rival Otānewainuku. Today he is known by many as Mount Maunganui, however to the Māori people he is still known as Mauao.
Please respect the environment and take care not to frighten any stock that maybe around. No Dogs are permitted. Please replace the cache exactly as found taking care when opening. As per normal caching etiquette each person must sign the log.We read every log, please tell us about your adventure in more than three or four words.....enjoy the vista, if you enjoyed the cache a fav is always appreciated
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.
***********FIRST TO FIND HONOURS TRYFYN **********