Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka-a-Māui is the prow of the demigod Māui’s canoe – the top of the South Island. Many different iwi (tribes) have migrated to these fertile, mineral-rich lands: the elusive ‘fairy folk’ of ancient times; the descendants of the navigator Kupe; and powerful Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri, who ruled for 200 years. Today, eight tribes form the region’s tangata whenua population.
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