#pariwhero

[kesara]

Ōwhiro Bay [IMG_0471] by Kesara Rathnayake Via Flickr: Ōwhiro Bay - Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa

[drhoz]

#2532 - Notomithrax ursus - Hairy Seaweed Crab

A Majid crab native to SE Australia and New Zealand, where they live from the intertidal zone down to about 75m. Crabs in shallower water attach pieces of seaweed to the hooked hair covering their body, for camoflage.

Slow-moving scavengers and omnivores, eating dead animals, seaweed (including their own disguise, sometimes) and mouthing on pieces of gravel.

Pariwhero, Wellington, New Zealand

[wellingtonnz]

NZ fur seals (kekeno) at Pariwhero - Red Rocks

[jontycrane]

Te Kopahou Reserve

A 600 hectare reserve on the south coast of Wellington, Te Kopahou Reserve is one of the most spectacular places in the city, home to fur seals, stunning views, WW2 observation bunkers, historic baches, colourful rocks, radar domes, and a castle! It also entirely exposed to the full force of the elements, so best explored on a calm and clear day. To start with the most popular part of the…

[kiwi31kiwi-blog]

Morning strolls ✨ . . . . #beach #purenewzealand #landscape #surf #sunrise #stroll #kiwisnzdiary #brooklyn #welly #wellywood #wellington #wellingtonnz #lyallbay #redrocks #nzguide #nzmustdo #nzimagery #nzguide #purenz #pariwhero (at Red Rocks)

[tourdescience]

South Makara Road to the Coast, 31 Dec 2021

Here was a nice day trip to see out a funny year. From my place in Brooklyn I scouted a loop out through Karori to South Makara Road that (seemed to) roll out to the South Coast around from Pariwhero Red Rocks.

The ride over Makara Hill was slow and then zoomy. South Makara Road takes you past the Karori Golf Course and shrinks down to a very quiet single lane, before turning into a track or paper road.

Before that though was a large locked gate! 'Written permission required for entry.' This wasn't on the map 🙃 I sat and a had a snack and really didn't want to turn around.

But along came some 4WDs from each direction. Down at the coast are some baches, and a guy was letting some friends through the gate. I figured I had nothing to lose so asked if I could cross the land.

Me, a skinny nerd on a bike, meekly asking for permission.

Him, a legit bogan with a smoke in one hand and a Heineken in the other: 'Oh yeah? It's not my land, so not up to me... But... I reckon you should do it. No one's gonna stop you.'

So, hopping over the gate, and with a tail wind and a downhill to the coast, I was very pleased to keep rolling. The track was fairly direct and crossed dozens of times through the meandering Karori Stream. I think I managed to cycle through these crossings about a third of the time? Loose rocks slowed me to a standstill the rest but it was a lovely day for splashing around.

After reaching the coast things got tough. A couple of kilometres of loose sand made for very tiring and slow going riding. Things improved after Te Rimurapa Sinclair Head and I gradually got myself home.

Route map

[chloeartstudio22]

Pariwhero

This unusual rock formation was created when an outcrop of ancient volcanic pillow lava was embedded in younger greywacke, along with red and green siltstone. 

The area was visited by early Māori for its fishing and bull kelp to store fish in, but is not believed to have been a settlement site. Various Māori legends explain the red colouration: Maui stained the rocks with blood from his nose (blood which he used to bait his hook before catching Te Ika a Maui - the North Island); Kupe wounded himself on paua; Kupe's daughters, fearing for their father’s safety on a long voyage, gashed themselves on the rocks. 

Red Rocks near Wellington is distinctive in being the European version of a Māori name (Pariwhero)

Text from 'Autonomous Bodies' by Holly Walker:

"I heard one story of this whenua

Kupe's two mokopuna Matiu and Makaro thought Kupe had been killed by Te Wheke O Muturangi.

In their longing for Kupe, they cut their breasts with shells to mark the mourning they felt.

Staining the rocks here whero.

Before attempting to write my own story on the surface, I identify the stories written in the land of the land.

Indigenous stories have been dissolved by the violent imposition of whiteness.

In this whiteness, Pākehā have lost how they identify with the land.

I can't explore my Pākehā identity here without acknowledging what's already here"

(what if I'm appropriating Māori stories? But at the same time, who am I to rewrite a story, make an artwork on a site, change the context of a place. This whole site has been quarried. It doesn't look like what it used to. Again, this is playing into the Pākehā imposition on land, changing land, changing stories. My body is small in the whakapapa of the land and the vast history of the sea before me).

[lucvanspace]

Kupe and the Giant Wheke

Kupe was a rangatira, a great fisherman who lived in Hawaiiki. Surrounding Kupe's settlement were the traditional fishing grounds where Kupe and his tribe caught their fish. When the moon and tides were right, the fishermen

headed out to sea and always returned with waka laden with fish of all colours and sizes- gifts from Tangaroa and Hinemoana which the whole tribe celebrated. The people gathered at the shoreline to greet them when they returned, to divide the catch so that each whanau had an even share.

One morning when the fishermen lowered their lines at one of their favourite fishing grounds, they didn't get the expected tug on their lines. Instead, when they pulled their lines from the water, their bait had vanished. This continued through the morning and into the day, and not one fisherman caught a single fish. This had never happened before. Many of the tribe were upset when they returned. They secretly accused the fishermen of disrespecting Tangaroa and therefore causing their misfortune.

Once Kupe had considered the happenings of the day, a hui was called. The whole island gathered around the evening fire to discuss the fate of their village. Kupe firstly spoke of his respect for the sea, of Tangaroa and Hinemoana, and how they had sustained their village since time began. Kupe also spoke of the fishermen who had generously fed and looked after their tribe since he was a young man, and how respected they were within the whanau. He committed himself to finding out exactly what had happened.

Early the next morning, Kupe and the fishermen lowered their lines at their favourite fishing grounds only to have their bait taken as had happened the day before. Kupe tried reciting a karakia that would draw fish to his line, but when he pulled it from the depths of the ocean, his bait was gone.

Kupe noticed a slimy substance covering his hook and recognised it as belonging to an octopus. He knew it would be useless to continue fishing and ordered the others to pull their lines from the water. Once more they headed back to shore empty handed.

That evening Kupe set out to the other side of the island where a chief called Muturangi resided. Kupe knew that Muturangi had a pet octopus renowned for its huge size and influence in the sea world. Kupe described to Muturangi what had been happening at their fishing grounds, stating that it was the work of an octopus. He asked if perhaps Muturangi's pet could possibly know who was responsible.

Muturangi looked at Kupe and laughed, "I don't tell my pet when to eat or what to eat. If it chooses to eat your bait or your fish for that matter, then that's what it does." Muturangi asked Kupe to leave.

"Then I will slay your pet, Te Wheke o Muturangi, and it will never trouble my people again," Kupe stated as he left.

"Unless it kills you first," was Muturangi's reply.

Kupe gathered his people and began to build a canoe, a large ocean going canoe, which he called Matahorua. When the vessel was complete, Kupe stocked it with supplies, readying it for a lengthy sea journey. Kupe's wife, Hine-te-Aparangi, their whanau, and many warriors and fishermen from the tribe boarded the new canoe and set out on their journey.

Te Wheke o Muturangi's tentacles broke the surface of the water first searching blindly for food, each one of its arms much longer than Kupe's waka. A tentacle with huge suckers gripped onto the side of their waka, threatening to capsize it. Kupe grasped his mere and slashed at the tentacle, cutting a huge hunk from its flesh. The wheke thrashed its arms in agony but Kupe struck out again. Te Wheke o Muturangi's enormous head emerged from the sea looming over the waka, as the warriors continued to attack the huge tentacle. Kupe pointed his mere at the wheke and chanted a spell, ensuring it would never again be able to dive to the depths of the ocean and hide.

Te Wheke o Muturangi was forced to flee across the surface of the sea. Kupe ordered his warriors into their sailing positions and the chase was on. The chase continued for weeks, across the vast Pacific Ocean. Kupe was running out of supplies and still Te Wheke o Muturangi managed to keep a distance between them. Finally, one morning Hine-te-Aparangi saw a long cloud in the distance, a sign that land was near. Hine-te-Aparangi named the land, Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud.

Hine-te-Aparangi, Kupe, and the whole whānau were amazed by the beauty of the new land they discovered. The stories they'd known as children of Maui fishing a great land from the sea were true.

Kupe landed his waka on the east coast of Aotearoa. His people explored the new land and gathered much needed supplies. Kupe took his dog, Tauaru, across land to the Hokianga harbour. They left footprints in the soft clay while walking around the shoreline. Over many years the footprints turned to stone and have remained there to this day.

When Kupe returned, the pursuit resumed down the east coast of the North Island to Rangiwhakaoma (Castle Point), where Te Wheke o Muturangi sought refuge in a cave known as Te Ana o te Wheke o Muturangi.

Kupe realised the wheke was trapped, but because it was late in the evening, he decided to wait for dawn before launching an attack. During the night Te Wheke o Muturangi slipped, undetected, through the black water of the night and back out into the open sea.

Kupe continued the chase, down the east coast until arriving at a huge open harbour, Te Whanganui-ā-Tara ( Wellington Harbour). Kupe's whānau rested at the head of the fish, as Kupe and his warriors continued on the wheke's trail.

Kupe sailed into Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait), a turbulent and potentially dangerous stretch of water between the North Island and South Island of Aotearoa. Knowing the turbulent waters would be an advantage to the wheke, Kupe chased it into the calmer waters of Totaranui (Queen Charlotte and Tory Sounds). Because of the many waterways and islands around those areas the pursuit continued for many days.

Kupe finally caught Te Wheke o Muturangi at the entrance to Te Moana o Raukawa from Totaranui, and the great sea battle began. The wheke lashed out with its huge tentacles at Kupe's canoe. Kupe and his warriors manoeuvred their canoe to avoid being overturned. Bracing himself with his legs, Kupe struck at the tentacles with his mere, but the giant wheke fought back, smashing another of its arms into the side of the canoe causing a huge gaping hole in the hull. Kupe threw a bundle of gourds overboard which the wheke mistook for a person and attacked. Kupe then jumped from his canoe onto the back of the giant wheke and struck a fatal blow to its head. Te Wheke o Muturangi was finally defeated.

The eyes of Te Wheke o Muturangi were placed on a rock nearby, which to this day is called Ngā Whatu (The Brothers).

During Kupes long absence, Hine-te-Aparangi and her whanau were worried that Kupe had been slain by Te Wheke o Muturangi and would never return. Matiu and Makaro, his two mokopuna, slashed their breasts with shells as a mark of mourning. Their blood stained the rocks where they stood. These rocks are near the entrance to Te Whanganui-ā-Tara harbour, and are now named Pariwhero (Red Rocks).

Kupe did return safely to his whanau at Te Whanganui-ā-Tara after successfully defeating Te Wheke o Muturangi. They all travelled further up the west coast of Te Ika a Maui (The North Island) naming many places as they went, finally settling in the Hokianga to replenish their supplies and to ready themselves for their return to Hawaiiki.

Te Wheke o Muturangi, which was thought of as a bad omen, had lead them to a new land they now called Aotearoa, a land Kupe knew future generations would call home.

This is the story of Kupe and the Giant Wheke.

[spatialobservatory]

Owhiro ki Pariwhero - 03-08-19

[hrspatial400]

Red Rocks Story

Located between Owhiro Bay and Sinclair Head

Red Rocks was not known to be a Maori settlement area in comparison to Owhiro Bay and Sinclair Head.

Maori Mythology of why the rocks are red.

“Kupe then left to explore the other side of Te Moana-a-Raukawa (Cook Strait), but was away so long that his people became worried. In despair, one of his daughters threw herself from the cliff tops at the southern coast onto the rocks below, which were stained with her blood. This area, with its rust-coloured stones, is known as Pari-whero (Red Rocks).” - https://teara.govt.nz/en/wellington-region/page-5

“Check out the red-coloured rocks that were formed 200 years ago. Maori folklore tells two stories relating to the colour of the rocks. In one, Kupe - the famous Polynesian explorer - was gathering paua (shellfish) here when one clamped his hand. He bled and stained the rocks red. In the other story, the red is the blood of Kupe's daughters. Fearing for their father's safety on a long voyage, they gashed themselves in grief over his absence.” -

https://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/red-rocks-reserve/

“Various Māori legends explain the red colouration: Maui stained the rocks with blood from his nose (blood which he used to bait his hook before catching Te Ika a Maui - the North Island); Kupe wounded himself on paua; Kupe's daughters, fearing for their father’s safety on a long voyage, gashed themselves on the rocks.” - https://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/beaches-and-coast/southern-suburbs/red-rocks-pariwhero

Alternate History

“This unusual rock formation was created when an outcrop of ancient volcanic pillow lava was embedded in younger greywacke, along with red and green siltstone. The Red Rocks Scientific Reserve was created in 1972 after growing public concern about quarrying in the area.”- https://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/beaches-and-coast/southern-suburbs/red-rocks-pariwhero

“The area was visited by early Māori for its fishing and bull kelp to store fish in, but is not believed to have been a settlement site.” - https://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/beaches-and-coast/southern-suburbs/red-rocks-pariwhero

https://www.wellingtonnz.com/discover/sights-activities/red-rocks-scientific-reserve/

[hrspatial200]

Maori history of Red Rocks

http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/beaches-and-coast/southern-suburbs/red-rocks-pariwhero

“The area was visited by early Māori for its fishing and bull kelp to store fish in, but is not believed to have been a settlement site. Various Māori legends explain the red colouration: Maui stained the rocks with blood from his nose (blood which he used to bait his hook before catching Te Ika a Maui - the North Island); Kupe wounded himself on paua; Kupe's daughters, fearing for their father’s safety on a long voyage, gashed themselves on the rocks.” 

http://www.newzealand.com/in/feature/red-rocks-reserve/

“Maori folklore tells two stories relating to the colour of the rocks. In one, Kupe - the famous Polynesian explorer - was gathering paua (shellfish) here when one clamped his hand. He bled and stained the rocks red. In the other story, the red is the blood of Kupe's daughters. Fearing for their father's safety on a long voyage, they gashed themselves in grief over his absence.” 

[kesara]

Big Rock [IMG_0483] by Kesara Rathnayake Via Flickr: Ōwhiro Bay - Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa

[drhoz]

#2511 - Jasus edwardsii - Southern Rock Lobster

AKA red rock lobster, or spiny rock lobster, Jasus novaehollandiae, Palinurus edwardsii, crayfish in Australia and New Zealand and kōura in te reo Māori.

Found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. They resemble lobsters, but lack the large pincers.

The leaf-like phyllosoma larvae spend between 9 months to 2 years as plankton before metamorphosing to the post larval puerulus, which then swims towards the coast to settle.

Highly prized for food, and potentially an aquaculture species.

Pariwhero, Wellington, New Zealand

[wellingtonnz]

Fur seals (kekeno) at Red Rocks

[sophiecameronspace]

Owhiro Bay/Red Rocks

Leaving from Owhiro Bay, a 30-40 minute walk on the rocky South Coast leads to the red rocks (pari-whero). This area contains Maori myths/history and interesting geology. 200 million years ago the red rocks were made from underground volcanic eruptions, where the fallen pillow lava formed these rock. Although there are a few Maori myth which explain why the rocks are red one being, the story of a Polynesian explorer (Kupe) who was fishing for Paua shell, when one grabbed his hand and he bled out which stained to rocks. 

Along the walk you will pass a few historical baches which were built in the 1900s.

In Maori, Owhiro means “moonless night” suggesting something dark about the by as there has been at least nine lives lost and a few ship wrecks.

http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/red-rocks-reserve/

http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/beaches-and-coast/southern-suburbs/red-rocks-pariwhero

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/the-wellingtonian/features/9183495/Street-history-Owhiro-Bay-Pde

[kesara]

Devil's Gate [IMG_0668] by Kesara Rathnayake