Te Mata Peak in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Wed, May 28th 2008, 00:00

Te Mata Peak in Hawkes Bay is an area long associated with New Zealand Maori legend.

Te Mata Peak rises nearly 400 metres above sea level above the winelands of the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand north island. The story tells of a giant, Te Mata O Rongokako, who was chief of a coastal tribe at war with the Heretuanga people of the plains. Te Mata fell under the spell of the Heretaunga chief's beautiful daughter … so he decided to stay and woo her rather than attack the tribe.

Unimpressed, she set him some impossible tasks to prove his devotion. Te Mata was doing well until she instructed him to chew his way through the hills between the coast and the plains, so that people could come and go with greater ease.

The giant set to work gulping down bits of the hill but he soon choked on a rock … and collapsed and died. Legend has it that Te Mata Peak and the hills to the south are the body of the prostrate giant, Te Mata. Pari Karangaranga, the echoing cliffs, also known as the Gap, is the hillside that the giant managed to eat through before he died.

Te Mata Peak today is a haven for lovers of the New Zealand countryside. There are a number of nature trails for hiking or mountain bike riding. You can even take a drive to the peak for panoramic views, from the mountains of the Ruahine, Kaweka and Maungaharuru Ranges, to the east coast beach of Mahia, Cape Kidnappers and the distant ski slopes of Mt Ruapehu.

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