👻 The Longest Place Name (Hawkes Bay) 👻 Virtual Cache

If you're looking for a place with a long name, there's no need to travel too far away... because one of the world's longest place names is found here in New Zealand!

History and significance:

At the posted coordinates, you'll find a sign that marks the location of

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

A common translation of the name is "the place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as 'landeater’, played his flute to his loved one". 

Tamatea was a chief, warrior, and explorer, known in Māori history as Tamatea-pōkai-whenua: Tamatea who encircled the land. He was travelling through the nearby area of Porangahau when he encountered the people of Ngāti Hine, and had to fight them so he could go past. During the battle, Tamatea's brother was killed. While Tamatea was grieving, he stayed at the site of the battle for many days, playing a lament on his kōauau - a traditional Māori mouth flute - each morning.

Taumata Hill (as it's locally known) is on private land, so this sign is the closest you can get to it if you are driving. The sign is about a 55 km drive south from Waipukurau. 

The hill is 305 m (1001 ft) high.

There are a few versions of the name, and some are even longer than the 85 letters you'll see on the sign. Since 1948, the official name used by LINZ and the New Zealand Geographic Board has been Taumatawhakatangihangakōauauotamateapōkaiwhenuakitānatahu (55 letters). 

For this virtual, you will need to...

1.) Take a photo of yourself, your caching name on a piece of paper, or some other personal item (such as a trackable or your GPSr) with the Taumatawhakatangihangakouauaotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu sign. Bonus points if you can fit the whole sign in your photo! 

Make sure you attach the photo to your log so I can see you've been here.

And an optional (but recommended) extra task...

2.) While you're here, have a go at learning to pronounce the name of the hill! This is an optional task, since I have no way of knowing whether you did or not, but I do really encourage you to try. This video is excellent if you'd like to listen to the name being said. It may look daunting and take a while to learn, but if you try small sections of the name at a time, it can make it a little easier:

taumata - whakatangihanga - kōauau - o - Tamatea - turi pūkakapiki maunga - horo nuku - pōkai whenua - kitānatahu

In te reo Māori, the letters "wh" are pronounced as an "f" sound, and a macron (such as "ō" or "ū") lengthens the vowel sound. If you're not sure, you can have a look at this pronunciation guide, which helps to explain the different vowel and consonant sounds.

Kia ora, good luck - you can do it!

Thank you for visiting! I hope you enjoy your visit to this special and significant place.

References:

100% Pure New Zealand. The longest place name in New Zealand. Retrieved from https://www.newzealand.com/ca/feature/the-longest-place-name-in-new-zealand/

Kirsty Lawrence (2017, September 14). New Zealand has one of the world's longest place names, but can you pronounce it? Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96388758/new-zealand-has-one-of-the-worlds-longest-place-names-but-can-you-pronounce-it

New Zealand Geographic Board Gazetteer. https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/5847

New Zealand History. 1000 Māori place names. Retrieved from https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-language-week/1000-maori-place-names

One News Te Karere weather report (for pronunciation). https://youtu.be/b9DcTKtSES8

Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.