still makes for an epic adventure
The great navigator Kupe is said to have had a pretty eventful time in New Zealand.
According to Māori story telling, he chased a giant tentacled creature Te Wheke-a-Muturangi to the Wairarapa, where he almost lost his life in a battle with it on Raukawa Moana (Cook Strait) and had epic adventures in Wellington and along the west coast of the North Island before finding a temporary home in the Hokianga.
Legend has it he loved Te Tai Tokerau so much he turned one of his sons into a taniwha to help protect it before his eventual return to Hawaiki.
Kupe is credited in many Māori narratives as being the first person to discover Aotearoa some 1000 years ago, having used the stars and currents to guide his waka across Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.
Lin to video and article: Kupe's voyage of discovery through Aotearoa still makes for an epic adventure | Stuff.co.nz
