Waka-a-Māui became familiar with these trails, some of which had been established for centuries, through their own explorations and through the guidance of others. The major route s were a complexity of trails by which Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui acc essed far southern districts, ventured to the inland lakes, rivers and streams for seasonal harvests of birds and plants, and quarried minerals (kokowai, pounamu, flints, etc) or accessed the coast for seafood. Kaiteriteri is a strategic landform, a physical marker that is steeped in ancestral history. The mātauranga and wāhi tapu associated w ith Kaiteriteri are taonga along with the traditions associated with Kaiteriteri. Its resources have been integral to the expression of Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui as kaitiaki. This kaitiaki role has the r esponsibilities passed down from tūpuna for Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui to take ca re of places, natural resources and other taonga within our rohe. Undisturbed occupation of the whenua over g enerations by Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui has instilled connections and expressions of value into the whenua, space and resources. It is an obligation of the hapū and wh ānau who have an associatio n with the whenua to look after and protec t the physical and spiritual wellbeing of all treasured resources, places and sites of significance. For Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui, Kaiteriteri is an area of great cultural, spiritual, historical, and traditional values, and represents the links between the cosmology, the gods and present generations. These histories reinforce our mana, our iwi identity, solidarity and continuity through the generations, and document the events that have shaped the environment of Kaiteriteri and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui as tangata whenua of Kaiteriteri. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui is charged to look a fter the sea, lands, waters and associated resources within Kaiteriteri for future generations. These taonga are what our tūpuna fought for and what gave Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui customary authority of Kaiteriteri. Kaiteriteri and Kaitiakitanga for Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māui is about preserving what our tūpuna foug ht for and attained. Kaitiakitanga it is both a right and responsibility acquired by proving an ability to give effect to trusteeship and management - it is intertwined with customary authority and exercising protection of the environment. MAUNGATAPU Maungatapu reigns above the eastern side of Tasman Bay. As the name suggests, Maungatapu is a sacre d mountain, a wāhi tapu of great significance to Te Ātiawao Te Waka-a- Māui. Through our ancestral and s piritual links to the natural world, Te Ātia wa o Te Waka-a- Māui is connected with the mau ri of Maungatapu, the life force that binds the spiritual world with the physical world. Maungatapu has been important to the identity and lives of Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a- Māui for generations. Beneath the gaze of this maunga Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-M āui cultivated land, collected resources and harvested food. Traditionally, Maungatapu was rich in manu, rongoā and tuna. Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui used these resources to sustain their wellbeing. The significance of Maungatapu is recognised in the Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui pepehā “Ko Maungatapu te maunga … ” Traditionally, Te Ātiawa o Te Waka -a-Māu i used Maungatapu as a boundary marker. It was a geograph ical landmark for tūpuna living to the west of Te Tau Ihu, forming one point in a triangle of peaks which dominate the Tasman Bay landscape. Maungatapu is part of a network of trails that were used in order to ensure the safest journey, and incorporated locations along the way that were identified for activities including camping overnight and gathering kai. Knowledge of these trails continues to be held by Te Ātiawa o Te Wa ka-a-Māui and is regarded as a taonga. The traditional mobile lifestyle of our people led to their dependence on the resources of the land. Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 112 of 163