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The connection I feel when I’m in nature, be it in the bush, on a mountain, lake or coast isn’t something I find easy to describe in words. It’s a language we are all born with, yet will lose over our lifetime unless we continue to build on that connection.

Up until a few days ago, I had never heard of the Ōtanewainuku Forest. It's just over an hour's drive from Whakatāne, tucked away in Oropi, just inland of Te Puke. Basically, right on my doorstep!

For my Sunday hike, I was lucky enough to be joined by Te Reiroa, a local whose knowledge of
te ao Māori exceeded his years. This was his hau kāinga (a forest he grew up in) and I felt privileged to be given a personal guided tour, learning about various Māori folklore. He took me to Whataroa Falls, where it's believed to be a gateway between 'noa' or the land of the living, and the spirit world. It's a rare sharing of old world knowledge and insight into te ao Māori that most people may never experience in their lifetime, and for that I was most grateful.

Whakatāne to the ōtanewainuku forest

From Whakatāne, drive along the Pacific Coast Highway towards Te Puke. Before the old
Te Puke Cemetery (before the township), turn left at Road No. 1 until you get to the intersection with No. 2 Road (logical names, right!) and turn left. Keep driving inland along farmland, with the last few kilometres becoming a dirt gravel road (about 15-20 mins). Turn right into Mountain Road, which will take you to the car park. The start of the Rimu Loop / Whataroa Falls track is at the start of the car park, while the Otawa Trig Lookout is at the back of the sheltered tables.

Since Te Reiroa and I were coming from opposite directions, we decided to meet up at the car park. As a kid, he remembered how Ōtanewainuku wasn’t so easy to get to as it is today - there was a crude, one lane gravel road and the tracks were more suited for animals than humans.

The story of Mauao and Otawa

For Te Reiroa, the forest was as much his classroom as going to Te Kura o Te Koutu School in Rotorua, the kura kaupapa school he attended. He considers Te Reo as his first language and only began to learn English when he was 13 years old. In his words, “I was always interested in te ao Māori for as long as I can remember, and I followed around all the older people in my whanau (family) who had the knowledge and just kept asking questions. Eventually they realised that I wasn’t going away anytime soon, so they shared what they knew. Now I’m trying to write down what I know, so that knowledge isn’t forgotten.”

The track leading to Whataroa Falls is popular with families - it’s well maintained, but do keep an eye out for overgrown roots and some slippery sections when it’s been raining. It’s a 1.5 hour loop track that should be achievable by most fitness levels.

Whataroa Falls is believed to be a gateway to ‘noa’, the land of the living, and ‘tapu’, the spirit world. Patupaiarehe (spirits of the forest) are said to walk the earth at night. 

Te Reiroa and I climbed up a steep bank that led to a rock overlooking the river. It was here that he shared a story from the time when gods walked Aotearoa / New Zealand. There were four mountains: Ōtanewainuku, Puwhenua (also known as Hikurangi), Mauao (also known as
Mt. Maunganui) and Ōtawa. Ōtanewainuku - a high born was popular, good looking and a natural at everything. Puwhenua was his female equivalent. Mauao looked at her longingly every day, but he was a low born, and Puwhenua rejected him time and time again because she wanted to be with Ōtanewainuku. Meanwhile, there was Ōtawa who pined over Mauao but didn’t say a word.

he taonga te riri, he taonga te mamae,
he taonga te aroha. ko ta tatou mahi he puri tatatia te ira tanga. koeinei te kai māro o
a tatou mātua tipuna.

“Anger is a gift, pain is a gift, love is a gift. It is our duty to treasure these gifts, so that we may hold true to the essence of what it is to be human. This is a difficult truth our ancestors understood well.” —- He whakatauki / A Māori proverb

With Puwhenua’s rejection, Mauao became so depressed that he wanted to end his life. He asked the patupaiarehe to help him move to the coast so that he could drown himself in the ocean. The patupaiarehe agreed, but they could only help Mauao at night, because their magic didn’t work in daylight. 

As the sun set, the patupaiarehe came to life and used harakeke (flax) as rope to drag Mauao towards the coast. Thousands of patupaiarehe working together to move Mauao - it must have been quite the sight! 

Sadly for Mauao, the sun began to rise before he reached the ocean. In their haste to save themselves, the patupaiarehe dropped the flax and Mauao was stranded in the shallow waters, nowhere near deep enough to drown his sorrows. The patupaiarehe returned to the waterfall and waited for darkness to fall. Unfortunately Mauao was now too far for them to help him, and learned that he turned to stone at day light.

Learning of Mauao’s fate, it was then that Ōtawa confessed her love for him. A sad story, yet a beautiful teaching moment of remembering that our emotions are temporary, and that they don’t define us. For Mauao, there was love right in front of him but he didn’t see it until it was too late, and Ōtawa chose to stay silent because she was scared of being rejected.

It is said that Ōtanewainuku and Puwhenua got married and joined together, becoming the forest and the river system that runs through the forest. The beautiful taonga (gift) that we get to enjoy today.

fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, graphic designer and writer.
A woman with a curious mind who lives for hiking mountains, outdoor adventures and eating pizza. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.