Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne District)

Mount Hikurangi is a 1752m peak in the eastern corner of New Zealand's North Island, about north of Gisborne, and 50km southwest of the East Cape Lighthouse. On a spur of the Raukūmara Range in the Waiapu Valley, it is the North Island's highest non-volcanic peak.Mount Hikurangi is within the rohe of Ngāti Porou, and is the iwi's most significant icon. In Māori mythology, it was the first part of the North Island to emerge when Māui pulled it as a giant fish from the ocean. According to these beliefs, his waka, Nukutaimemeha, became stranded on the mountain, and lies petrified near the mountain's summit. Nine large whakairo depicting Māui and his whānau were erected on the mountain to commemorate the millennium in 2000.Nearby summits include Whanokao, Aorangi, Wharekia and Taitai . Together, these mountains provide what Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand calls an "awe-inspiring vista".