When you arrive at the South Island on ferry from Wellington, you see a nice little town, which has a very relaxed atmosphere and many tourists. Picton has a number of short walks. This is one of them on which you climb up the hill and get a great view of Picton Bay.

Whether you Traveling in New Zealand or just opened its’ map, you meet strange and funny sounding names of cities, mountains, rivers and other places. These names are among few things that remained untouched by the European “invaders”. One of the causes to this fact is the information that these names possess. This information is vague at first glance, but it is really very enriching when studying Maori legends and heritage. Maori named different places using parts of words. These names have rich meanings, describing events that took place at that particular location. Whole legend can be condensed in a single word. When you start getting familiar with different Maori words, magnificent ancient scenes are being unveiled to you. Before Europeans came to New Zealand Maori had no written language, and each tribe had somewhat different language. Many years have passed before Maori legends were put on paper, and this is one of the causes to the fact that some Maori names have several different legends about them. In this article I will describe only a few meanings of place names that I think to be most interesting.
First Maori reached New Zealand in AD 600-800 from their home in Polynesia on canoes. They called their home HAWAIKI – legendary land, where Maori souls will reside after death, and then return back to earth. Many places in New Zealand are called after the Maori people who first discovered it and their canoes, for example Mattaatua, Takitimu, Tainui, Te Arawa, Aotea, Tokomaru, Karahaupo, Horouta, Uruao, Mahuhu and Arai I te Uru. About forty different names begin with: Ngati, Ngai, Nga, Te or Te Ati, which describe different Maori tribes.
Let’s finally begin with the names:

AHIMANAWA: Ahi means fire and Manawa means heart.
Nobody knows what exactly occurred regarding this name, but it is known that about two hundred years ago a daughter of one Maori chief named Te Kohipipi was killed. To revenge her death did something at night to surprise his enemies, killed them, and in early morning cut out their hearts and took them home. On his way, while walking on mountain ridge he made a lunch stop and cooked and age some of those hearts. Ever since this mountain ridge is called Te-Ahi-Manawa-a-Te-Kohipipi, which means the fire of Te-Kohipipi hearts.

AHIPARA: Ahi again means fire, and para is a kind of fern roots. So this name means “fire for cooking fern roots”

AHUAHU: Ahu – to pour sand (English name – Great Mercury Island). Maori use repetitions of same word to emphasize the positive outcome of an action. In this case Maori person named Paikea reached this island on the back of whale. After this unusual journey he was freezing and poured warm sand on himself in order to get warmed up, and this is how the island got its’ name.

AHURIRI: (Napier). Maori named Tu Ahuriri discovered a lagoon, in which Pauas (mollusks) were dying because of constant flooding. Tu Ahuriri organized works to clean a path to the sea to stop this flooding, and later this area was named after him.

AKAROA: Aka – bay, roa – long. Long bay.

ANAWHATA: Ana – cave, Whata - food warehouse. Cave to store food.

AORAKI: (Mount Cook) Ao – cloud, Raki – sky. Cloud in the sky. There is a legend telling that a few heavenly children reached earth in canoe. This canoe became the South Island of New Zealand, and Aoraki who was the captain of the canoe became a mountain in the South Island.

AOTEAROA: This is one of the names of New Zealand, which means “The Land of the Long White Cloud”. Legend tells that fist married couple that reached New Zealand named it AOTEAROA. The husband was named Kupe and his wife’s name was Kuramarotini.

TAUNATAWHA… : Full name is Taunatawhakatanghangakoauauolanateapokawhenuaktanalahu. This name is in the Guinness records book as the longest name on the planet. This is a small hill (305m above the sea level), with a name consisting of 85 letters. Translated it means “Place where Tamati, a man with big knees, called earth-eater, walks from mountain to mountain eating them on his way, and playing on flute for his beloved” How poetic!

KORORAREKA: Korora means blue penguin and Reka means tasty. An old chief became ill and said to his sons – I would like to eat a penguin before I die. After long and hard search only one blue penguin was found. When penguin was cooked and ready, chief was so weak that he couldn’t chew, but he managed to drink a penguin soup and mumbled “Ka reka te korora”, which means “Tasty blue penguin”. Many years after this a city was built there. Its English name is Russell.

These are truly fascinating pieces of history that are elegantly told by the Maori names of different places of New Zealand.

Wonderful Whale-inglton.

Before whaling took its toll, southern right whales bred in Wellington harbour. Their cavorting was so loud a visitor in the 1800s complained the whales kept him awake all night. Today when a whale surfaces in these waters most watchers are spellbound. Motorists get caught in major traffic jams on the motorway when the tall fins of orca slice through the harbour waves. Seaside coffee sippers and kayakers are entertained when hundreds of dolphins regularly parade into town. Whales and dolphins excite the emotions and imagination of people. Wellington, with its sheltered inner harbour and outer rough and raw coastline, is lucky to live on the edge of their world. Keep your eye out for these show-stopping neighbours.

The Cook Strait takeaway bar
The waters around Wellington do not hold permanent whale populations, but there is something to offer both toothed and baleen whales that pass through each year. Toothed whales include dolphins, porpoises, orca, sperm and beaked whales. Baleen whales include some of the biggest—southern right, humpback and blue whales. Deep Cook Strait canyons and food-bearing currents provide a rich larder, and Wellington harbour, shallow by comparison, offers a chance for rest and relaxation in warmer waters. Not far from the outer coast the sea floor drops to canyons more than 1000 metres deep. In the dark crevices live squid, a favorite food of deep-diving toothed sperm whales. For baleen whales, Cook Strait provides a rich ‘soup’ of fish and tiny animals that can be sieved from the ocean through their giant baleen plates. The soup is mixed by currents swirling through the canyons and over reefs, stimulating the growth of tiny planktonic plants and attracting zooplankton, which in turn are eaten by fish.

Which Whales are found around Wellington?
Twenty-three whale species have been seen passing through Wellington’s waters, though some are very rare and only join the record books when they strand or wash up on shore.

Common visitors
Our most frequent Wellington visitors are dolphins—the common dolphin and orca. Both can be spotted all year round, but are most likely seen between February and April.

Common dolphin
Playful pods of common dolphins are regular visitors to Wellington. Hundreds and sometimes thousands can chop the harbour waves or leap along the coast. Usually less than two-metres long, the common dolphin can be recognised from its colour, distinctive beak and low, smoothly sloping head. Animals are dark grey or purplish-black on top, and white and cream below.Watch out for them as they surface to breathe. Unlike us their breathing is not unconscious. They can sleep only by resting one side of their brain at a time.

Orca (Killer whale)
Pods of orca, power into Wellington for a pit stop of their favourite meal. They like to dig the muddy sea bottom for stingrays and there is a good supply of these in the shallow basin of Wellington Harbour. They also eat seals and dolphins. An estimated 150 to 200 orcas make regular laps around New Zealand, moving between the north of the North Island and Kaikoura in the south. Common behaviour—the sort that brings Hutt motorway traffic to a standstill—is spy hopping (a tail-stand and 360 degree turn), breaching and slapping flippers on the water. The tall, 1.8 metre dorsal fin of the bull is also very recognizable. The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family. The name killer whale was originally ‘whale killer’—named by Spanish sailors who saw them hunt larger whales. Despite their fierce reputation, no records exist of deliberate fatal attacks on people. But it still pays to treat them with respect.


Occasional visitors

Humpback whale
Humpback whales commute through Cook Strait each year, between summer feeding in Antarctic waters and winter breeding in the Pacific. Two were seen in Lyall Bay in 1999.

Southern right whale
Right whales also travel past. They once numbered 60,000. Today, after whaling, only a few thousand remain. One visited Wellington harbour in 1997.

Sperm whale
Some sperm whales hangout in Cook Strait all year round. They were once hunted for their oil to make medicines and candles. These days people visit them, at the southern end of Cook Strait, on whale-watching tours from Kaikoura. The minke and long finned pilot whales and dusky and bottlenosed dolphins are also more likely to be spotted from boats than from shore.

Very rare visitors
Five species of beaked whales have come ashore around Wellington—the Arnoux’s, Cuvier’s, Andrew’s, Gray’s and Hector’s beaked whales. Other strandings include the straptooth, blue, pigmy right and pygmy sperm whales.

The Dusky Trail
This 23 km-long trail offers a great mountain biking experience, with wonderful views of the Mackenzie Basin. It is also suitable for horse trekkers, runners and walkers.

Access
There are two entrances to the Dusky Trail. One starting point is located on Aoraki/Mt Cook Road (SH 80), about 4 km from the SH 8 turn-off. There is a designated car parking area here.
The second entry point—and the closest to Twizel — is at Fraser Stream. Look out for the Department of Conservation sign for Dusky Trail beside Glen Lyon Road, on the western outskirts of Twizel.

Route Description
From the Fraser Stream entrance, travel along the marked trail through public conservation land beside Fraser Stream. At the Darts Bush/Fraser Stream junction, the trail continues on a public easement and steadily climbs through tussock country beneath the Ben Ohau Range. After crossing Fraser Stream, the trail traverses the lower flanks of The Black Hills and reaches a high point of 780 metres. The trail then descends a public easement past an old private mustering hut before crossing Twizel River. The trail gently descends bumpy flats alongside Twizel River, before climbing up to the Aoraki/Mt Cook Road car park.

Baikie Hut
This hut can be visited as a side trip from the main Dusky Trail. From the Twizel River crossing, it is 4 km to Baikie Hut (4 bunks), a great venue for picnicking or an overnight stay. This hut has been substantially renovated. The original hut was built during the 1920s as part of the Dusky run block. The trail derives its name from this connection.

Public easements
This trail has been formed as a result of Ben Ohau, Rhoborough and Pukaki Downs stations negotiating the tenure review process. Land has been secured for the public along the Ben Ohau Range on the western outskirts from Twizel. To be able to reach conservation land there are agreed easements (public right of way) through private farm land. Roughly half the Dusky Trail travels along easements.

Take care visiting natural areas
River crossing: This trail involves crossing several rivers, with a major crossing of the Twizel River. Do not attempt to cross if the river is swollen or discoloured.
Public easements: Keep to the public easement tracks and use the small pedestrian gates. Please close these gates after you.
Stock: Stock may be present on private farm land. Do not disturb animals.
Didymo: Please take all necessary pre-cautions before and after entering the rivers to avoid the spread of didymo. See www.biosecurity.govt.nz.
Fire: Fires restrictions apply to all public conservation land. Check with the Twizel Information Centre or DOC for the current fire status.
Dogs: Dogs are not permitted on Dusky Trail