Tapuae-o-Uenuku, formerly Mount Tapuaenuku, is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. 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 Co ...

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 The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

, and over 80 metres taller than

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

, the tallest peak in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

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 Kaikōura mountains. This valley is paral ...

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

Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: * Kapiti (New Zealand electorate), a former Parliamentary electorate *Kāpiti Coast District, a local government district *Kapiti Island * Kapiti Coast Airport * Kāpiti College *Kāpiti Expressway * Kapiti Fine Food ...

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 boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

that ply

Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North Island, 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, ...

. The first European to sight the mountain was

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, 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, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

Lieutenant-Governor of New Munster New Munster was an early original European name for the South Island of New Zealand, given by the Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson, in honour of Munster, the Irish province in which he was born. Province When New Zealand was sep ...

, 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 f ...

, 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.). The mountain is locally known as "Tappy", 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 Mount 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 Kaikōura District {{Marlborough-geo-stub

See also

Notes

External links