Legends of Rotorua and the Hot Lakes

“Tourists and visitors to Rotorua, experiencing all the enchantment of the thermal wonders of a lovely countryside, often enquire if there are Maori stories and legends to account for the natural phenomena.

The Thermal Region is indeed the home of legends and phantasy, and a host of these stories has at last been collected in a single volume. some of them are well-known and have become part of the heritage of Maori literature and tradition in New Zealand. Best-loved is the charming tal eof Hinemoa and Tutanekai, but there are many other stories, soms e of them not well-known to the present-day pakeha, which are equally worthy of preservation.

Every hot pool and geyser, every stream and valley, had its own story of wonder and enchantment, and although many of these have been lost with the passage of time, enough remains to make a fascinating book. Here are tender tales of love and romance and stirring stories of war; tales of taniwha, dreadful monsters that lurked in the streams and springs of the Rotorua lakeside; stories of Ihenga, the intrepid explorer who discovered Rotorua, and the adventures that he had with the fairies of Ngongotaha. Here are tales of Hatupatu and his flight from the bird ogress; of Hongi and the surprise raid that he made on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Mokoia Island; and of the cannibal demon who woke from sleep to lay waste the land in the great Tarawera Eruption. …”