Ōtūtereinga is a cliff at the northern end of Wainui, on the western side of

Akaroa Harbour Akaroa Harbour is part of Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. The harbour enters from the southern coast of the peninsula, heading in a predominantly northerly direction. It is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula ...

. Its name is also spelt Otutereinga and O Tu Te Reinga. "Ō" means "place of", "tu" translates to "stand", "te" signifies "the", and "reinga" refers to the "flitting place from which spirits transition to the underworld", similar to

Cape Reinga Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua (; sometimes spelled Rēinga, ) is the northwestern most tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town ...

. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the only things that have fallen off this cliff are household waste, as the local council established the Wainui Dump in the area. The landfill has since been closed. At this location, powerful waves crash against the rocky shore, a phenomenon that was traditionally viewed by the

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 Co ...

as a warning sign of an impending storm.

Tāngatahara Tangatahara ( – 13 December 1847) was a Ngāti Irakehu (Banks Peninsula) and Ngāi Tūāhuriri warrior who led the unsuccessful defence of the Ōnawe Peninsula, Ōnawe Pā invasion in 1832, but later restored his prestige by joining war parti ...

, the chief defender of the Ōnawe Pā, is buried near the sea in a small ancient (burial ground).

References

Landforms of the Canterbury Region Headlands of the Canterbury Region {{CanterburyNZ-geo-stub