Mokotahi Lookout, Māhia

The white-cliffed headland is the standout landmark of the Māhia Peninsula, while offering excellent views from the top of it. Recent works have also widened the track to make it safer and more accessible.

Mokotahi Hill is a significant site to Ngāti Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Kahungunu with a long history of occupation on the site. Various pits and terraces can still be seen on hill.

The proposed Paererewā draws form from a whale jawbone, with two toi whakairo – the Whatu Moana and the Raperape spiral – embedded within. It is proposed to be positioned on the summit of Mokotahi Hill near the walking path, surrounded by the panoramic views.

Tangaroa writes:

"Mokotahi has been a site of significance for our whānau since the arrival of our tohunga, Ruawharo. Our whānau have resided in Te Māhia and Nūhaka since the arrival of our people. Mokotahi represents a deeply significant place due to its whakapapa and its connection to whales, which has inspired the design of the pae. Te Māhia is also known as Te Pakake a Ruawharo and Te Ara a Paikea—two routes once frequently travelled by whales.

As a child, I witnessed many whales beached along the coast. One significant memory is seeing numerous whales stranded along the shoreline near Mokotahi—long, black bodies stretching across the beach. I also witnessed the process of laying the whales to rest beneath the sand. We still have photos of this event. It is something I will never forget."

David writes:

"Māhia wasn’t always a peninsula; several thousand years ago it was an island. Whales used to swim through the passage separating it from the mainland. Long after the sand dunes filled in the gap the memory remained in the mass migrating mind of the whales—perhaps like the ghost feeling of a lost limb—asserting the deep connections between animal life and the land.

So perhaps Māori would have watched for the whales from the summit of Mokotahi, and waited for one to strand on the sand. European whalers probably did the same thing from their whaling station a little further south of Taylors Bay."