Tapa Whenua

Rediscover Aotearoa through the original place names Māori gave to the land

Place names are more than markers on a map - they are carriers of memories, identity and mana.

Across the beaches, mountains and bush of Aotearoa - from legendary voyages to lovers lost and atua battling across valleys - the stories of our nation's original names are epic and inspire new perspectives on familiar geographies.

Part history, part travel, part cultural reclamation, this is a guide to 150 place names and the layered whakapapa beneath the landscape we know today.