Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne District)

The peak is traditionally regarded as the first land in the world to catch the rays of the new day's sun, although this claim, like any such claim of its type, is open to interpretation. Certainly it is not true at any time of the year other than the Southern Hemisphere summer, as both Fiji and Tonga are to the east. In summer, however, because of the tilt of the Earth's axis, it does receive the sun's rays earlier than these places[9] It does not receive them earlier than the Chatham Islands (or, of course, Antarctica), however, and in midsummer some parts of the South Island mainland (such as the peaks of Banks Peninsula and Dunedin's Mount Cargill) receive the dawn's light at almost exactly the same time. This did not stop the mountain gaining world prominence in the celebrations for the new Millennium, however.

The first sun of a new day strikes the top of Hikurangi, East Cape, Aotearoa, New Zealand

According to the Department of Conservation, the mountain is "recognised and accepted as the first point on the mainland to greet the morning sun".[1] The traditional greeting of South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu to North Island visitors, "Haere mai, e te Rāwhiti!" (Welcome, O Sunrise!), references this fact.[10]^: 56 Celebrations by Ngāti Porou to commemorate the first dawn of the new millennium in 2000, including karakia led by Tamati and Amster Reedy, took place on the summit of the mountain.[11][12] In addition, nine massive whakairo (carvings) depicting Māui's story and his family were erected on the mountain as part of the celebrations.[3][13] They were carved under Derek Lardelli's guidance by students from Toihoukura, the Eastern Institute of Technology's School of Māori Visual Arts.[13]

Before the arrival of Europeans, Mount Hikurangi was within Ngāti Porou's territory.[4] Ngāti Porou believe they are descendants of Māui, and thus have had a connection with the mountain since it arose from the sea.[4] In the 1870s, the Crown acquired the mountain and turned it into a state forest park.[14] In November 1990, ownership of Mount Hikurangi was returned to Ngāti Porou, who now manage the mountain, and facilitate the public's access to it.[14]

Mount Hikurangi (Te Ara ki Hikurangi) is of great spiritual, cultural, and physical significance to Ngāti Porou.[3] It is the iwi's most important icon, and in Māori mythology, was the first part of the North Island to emerge when Māui, an ancestor of Ngāti Porou, pulled it as a giant fish from the ocean.[4] According to these beliefs, his waka, Nukutaimemeha, became stranded on the mountain, and lies petrified near the mountain's summit.[3][4] Another of Ngāti Porou's mythological ancestors, Paikea, is also associated with the mountain. According to myth, Paikea's younger half-brother, Ruatapu, attempted to kill about 70 of his older kin ("brothers") at sea in Hawaiki to exact revenge on his father for belittling him as a low-born son of a slave. The massacre, called Te Huripūreiata, was survived only by Paikea, who called on the sea gods and ancestors to save him.[16] Paikea travelled to New Zealand on the back of a whale, but Ruatapu sent a great flood, called Te Tai a Ruatapu, to kill the survivors in New Zealand.[4][16] Mt. Hikurangi became a refuge for the people from this deluge.[4]

The mountain is often referenced in Ngāti Porou's karakia (incantations), waiata (songs), haka (war dances), and pēpeha or whakatauākī (proverbs).[1] Examples of these include:

• Ko Hikurangi te maunga, Ko Waiapu te awa, Ko Ngāti Porou te iwi (Hikurangi the mountain, Waiapu the river, Ngati Porou the people). Ngāti Porou's proverb of identity.[4][17]
• He atua! He tangata! He atua! He tangata! Ho! (Behold, it is divine! It is human! It is divine! It is human! Ah!). Referring to Mt. Hikurangi, this is from the Ngāti Porou haka, Rūaumoko, named after the earthquake god.[4]
• Whakaeteete mai ko Hikurangi (Thrusting upward, is Hikurangi). From the haka, Whakarongo ake ki te hīrea waha o Māui (Hearken to the faint call of the voice of Māui), celebrating the mythological rise of the mountain from the ocean.[16]
• He kākā tāwari ki Hikurangi, he moki ki te moana ([A] kaka feeding on the tawari at Hikurangi, [is as fat as the] moki in the sea). This saying represents plentiful food.[10]^: 82[18]
• Ka rukuruku a Te Rangi-tāwaea i ōna pūeru (Te Rangi-tāwaea [a Ngāti Porou ancestor] dons his garments). Said when Mount Hikurangi is covered in snow.[10]^: 184

Some famous Māori quotes involving Hikurangi include:

• Ehara a Hikurangi i te maunga haere (Hikurangi is not a travelling mountain). The mountain of Hikurangi did not have a legend involving movement, and Te Kani-a-Takirau referenced this to justify his unwillingness to leave the area when he turned down the Māori Kingship, also saying he was "a king already through [his] ancestors".[10]^: 22
• Kāti, tukua mai ki Hikurangi, ki te maunga e tauria e te huka (Enough, let him come hither to Hikurangi, to the mountain on which rests the snow). Said by Te Aotaki, instructing his tribe to welcome Tūwhakairiora, who came to avenge the murder of Poroumātā, his grandfather, and no doubt to undergo tohi (a rite to cause bravery), and possibly marry one of his daughters.[10]^{: 189, 409} Another version of the quote is Tukuna mai ki a au, ki Hikurangi, te maunga e tauria ana e te huka (Let him come to me, to Hikurangi, the mountain covered with snow).[10]^: 409

Aciphylla colensoi, one of the species of alpine plants found on Mount Hikurangi

The summit of Mount Hikurangi is the northernmost place where New Zealand's alpine vegetation can be seen.[1] Among the alpine shrubs and delicate herbs found there are large buttercups (Ranunculus spp.), and prickly wild Spaniards (Aciphylla spp.).[1]

The mountain contains the only known habitat of a small sub-alpine shrub, the Hikurangi tutu (Coriaria pottsiana), found on the grassy scree slope behind the Mount Hikurangi Tramping Hut at 37°54′22″S 178°3′31″E.[1][19]

Mount Hikurangi was the location of the last known mainland sighting of the North Island saddleback in 1910, before its reintroduction to the North Island on the 16th of June 2002 at Zealandia in Wellington.[20][21] In Māori times, kaka would fatten themselves on the berries of the tawari trees growing on the mountain.[10]^: 82[18] In the 1960s, members of the Gisborne Tramping Club heard what they thought may have been the call of a kakapo on the mountain, a parrot whose last documented existence in the North Island was in 1895.[20][22]

The nearby Raukumara Forest Park's forests include a wide range of podocarp-broadleaved species such as rimu, rata, tawa, hinau, rewarewa, kamahi, kahikatea, miro, beech and totara.[23] Native birds and animals found in the area include pīwakawaka, tūī, whio, kākā, falcons, kererū, brown kiwi, Hochstetter's frogs, snails, lizards, skinks, Motuweta riparia (Raukumara tusked wētā), and short- and long-tailed bats.[23][24] Introduced animals include deer, goats, possums, pigs, cattle and mustelidae, all of which pose a threat to the native wildlife.[23]

Mount Hikurangi is about 130 km (81 mi) north of Gisborne by road. Visitors to the mountain are asked to contact Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou before arriving, as the track crosses their private land, which is sometimes closed for short periods for cultural or farming reasons. While there is no public vehicle or bicycle access beyond the car park near the bottom, 4x4 tours to the carvings can be organised through Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou, who also offer a summit guide and an overnight guide. From the car park, it is about a 7-hour walk to the summit. There is a hut for public use 4–5 hours up the mountain, but visitors must bring their own cooker and water. Bookings for the hut are also made through Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou. Visitors are advised to be cautious of the mountain's unpredictable weather, and to bring clothing suitable for all weather conditions.[25]

Hunting of introduced species is permitted in the nearby Raukumara Forest Park.[24]

• List of mountains of New Zealand by height
• Waiapu Valley
• Ngāti Porou

• Media related to Mount Hikurangi at Wikimedia Commons
• Mt Hikurangi article with photo in Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• Waiapu River valley article in Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, with photo here
• Photos of carvings of Māui and other members of his family on the mountain.
• The importance of Hikurangi to Ngāti Porou video (in te reo Māori, with English notes)