NGAURUHOE

Tongariro National Park sits in the heart of the North Island in New Zealand. Mt Ngauruhoe is the quintessential volcano in shape that is part of Tongariro. In the maori culture Tonga-riro is traditionally the belly of the fish that Maui caught. Ngatoroirangi, the archpriest of Arawa canoe, prayed to his gods in Hawaiki to send fire to produce a volcano in the mountain. The gods sent fire which came to him by way of Whakaari (White Island), Moutohora, Okakaru, the Rotorua thermal district, Tarawera, Paeroa, Orakeikorako, and Taupo.  The name, Tonga-riro, commemorates the cold south wind, which chilled Ngatoroirangi.