South IslandThe South Island (official alternative name Te Waipounamu, from Māori) is the larger of the two main islands of New Zealand by surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. With a population of 1,256,700 as of June 2025, the South Island is home to 24% of New Zealand's 5.3 million inhabitants. The most populous cities are Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson and Invercargill.
Lake Te AnauLake Te Anau (Māori: Te Ana-au) is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of 344 km (133 sq mi), making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the second largest lake in Australasia by fresh water volume. The main body of the lake runs north-south, and is 65 km in length.
Ngāi TahuNgāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island. Its takiwā (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Māhanga and Kahurangi Point in the north to Stewart Island / Rakiura in the south. The takiwā comprises 18 rūnanga (governance areas) corresponding to traditional settlements.
HawaikiHawaiki (also rendered as ʻAvaiki in the Cook Islands, Hawaiki in Māori, Savaiʻi in Samoan, Havaiʻi in Tahitian, Hawaiʻi in Hawaiian) is, in Polynesian folklore, the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in many Māori stories. Anne Salmond states Havaiʻi is the old name for Raiatea, the homeland of the Māori.
Māori mythologyMāori mythology and Māori traditions are two types of New ZealandMāori oral history regarding the remote past. Māori myths are tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of the observable world for the pre-European Māori, often involving gods and demigods. Māori traditions are more folkloric legends, often involving historical or semi-historical forebears.
Kāti MāmoeKāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe) is a Māoriiwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha. A century later, the Ngāti Māmoe were largely subsequently absorbed via marriage and conquest by Ngāi Tahu, who migrated south in turn. There are many hapū (sub tribes) that acknowledge Kāti Māmoe as their iwi.
Clutha RiverThe Clutha River / Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. Gold is in abundance in the Clutha River and its surrounding areas.
PolynesiaPolynesia (UK: , US: ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including linguistic relations, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. The term Polynésie was first used in 1756 by the French writer Charles de Brosses, who originally applied it to all the islands of the Pacific.
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
Māori peopleIndigenous Polynesian people of New ZealandEthnic groupMāori are the indigenousPolynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori are descended from East Polynesian settlers who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed a distinct culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures.IwiIwi (Māori pronunciation: [ˈiwi]) are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, iwi roughly means 'people' or 'nation', and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. Iwi groups trace their ancestry to the original Polynesian migrants who, according to tradition, arrived from Hawaiki.
HapūIn Māori and New Zealand English, a hapū ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally operated independently of its iwi (tribe). EtymologyThe word hapū literally means "pregnant", and its usage in a socio-political context is a metaphor for the genealogical connection that unites hapū members.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.