Tapuae-o-Uenuku, formerly Mount Tapuaenuku, is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island. The name translates from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

as "footprint of the rainbow", though is usually regarded as being named after Chief Tapuaenuku. At it is the highest mountain in New Zealand outside the main ranges of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana, and over 80 metres taller than

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

, the tallest peak in the North Island. Mount Tapuaenuku Tapuae-o-Uenuku New Zealand Aotearoa

It dominates the Inland Kaikōura Range, rising high above the valleys of the Waiau Toa / Clarence and

Awatere River The Awatere River is a large river flowing through Marlborough, New Zealand. Flowing along the trace of the active Awatere Fault, it runs northeast through a straight valley to the west of the Inland Kaikoura mountains. This valley is paralle ...

s. It can be seen from as far away as the

Kapiti Coast The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore. The pop ...

in the North Island, nearly 165 kilometres away, and is a prominent point on the horizon for travellers on the interisland

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

that ply

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...

. The first European to sight the mountain was James Cook, who called it ''Mount Odin'', but later nicknamed it "The Watcher" since his ship seemed to be visible from it at so many points along the coast. The first Europeans to attempt to climb the mountain were

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved t ...

, Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster, and

William John Warburton Hamilton William John Warburton Hamilton (April 1825 – 6 December 1883), who generally signed as J. W. Hamilton, was an administrator, explorer, and politician in New Zealand. Early life Hamilton was born in 1825 at Little Chart, Kent, England. His fa ...

, in 1849. They came within a short distance of the summit but were forced to turn back.''Wise's New Zealand Guide.'' (1969). Dunedin: H. Wise and Co. (N.Z.). Tappy, as the locals call it, was the springboard for legendary mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary's climbing career that took him to be the first person to reach the summit of Mt Everest. "I'd climbed a decent mountain at last," Sir Ed said of his weekend solo climb in 1944, while training with the Royal New Zealand Air Force in Marlborough during WW2.

Notes

External links

Tapuae-o-Uenuku at PeakBagger.com

Tapuae-o-Uenuku at theprow.org.nz

Tapuae-o-Uenuku Tapuae-o-Uenuku, formerly Mount Tapuaenuku, is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island. The name translates from Māori as "footprint of the rainbow", though is usually regarded as being named after Chief Tapuaenuku. At ...

Kaikōura District {{Marlborough-geo-stub

See also

Notes

External links