Te Aho a Māui is the ancestral name for Cape Turnagain on the Wairarapa coastline. The name refers to Māui’s fishing line. Further north, Te Kauwae a Māui, Cape Kidnappers, is the southern barb of the hook, with the line following the eastern coastline down to Te Moana o Raukawakawa, Cook Strait. There’s a bend in the coastline, visible as Cape Turnagain, representing where Māui twisted the line around his hand to gain a firm grip to haul up the great fish.
The local people of the Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu tribes consider Māui to be an important ancestor. Rangitāne’s mother was from Te Aitanga-a-Kupe, who descend from Māui. (Source: rangitaneeducation.com).
Just north of Te Aho-a-Māui are other culturally significant sites including Pōrangahau and the site of one of the world’s longest placenames ‘Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu’ which references the exploits of one of Māui’s ancestors, Tamatea.
