Its pure water was abundant in fish such as kokopu, eels, inanga, kahawai, kekewai and koura and was a rich source of birds such as kaka, kereru, kakapo, kiwi, kakapo and weka. The Kawatiri River was part of a complex series of pathways and trails. A number of Ngāti Apa pā, cultivations, mahinga kai, and urupā were located on the river. The tupuna Takapau and Tamahau were born and died here. Takapau was kaitiaki of the gardens at Kawatiri, as stated: ‘nona i whakamara nga mahinga kai o te ha pū whana u o Ngāti Ap a’. Pou-o-te-Rangi and Tureia, descendants of Takapau, lived and died at Kawatiri. Kawatiri place was also a residence of the tupuna Te Rato (also known as Te Kotuku - the White Heron), Te Whare Kiore (who was killed here during the northern invasions), Mahuika, and the high-born woman Mata Nohinohi. Mata Nohinohi was the mother of Ke hu, the famous Ngāti Apa / Tumatakokiri guide and kaitiaki of the inland trails and Mahuika. The tupuna Puaha Te Rangi, a participant in the 1860 Arahura purchase, was another rangatira associated with Kawatiri. The tupuna Kuneoterangi is buried there. A kainga on the river was re-occupied by Ngāti Apa after peace was established in the mid-1840s. Its leader was Mahuika, half brother of Kehu and son of Mata Nohinohi. Ngāt i Apa were engaged at that time in trade with sealers who still frequented the coast. TĀKAKA RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES Ngāti Apa’ s relationship with its whenua and wai is integral to its identity as a people. The Tā kaka River was named by Ngāti Apa tupuna and is a symbol for Ngāti Apa people of the intense nature of their relationship to their environment, the mauri or life force that is contained in all parts of the natural environment and that binds the spiritual and physical world. An ancient summer trail follows the course of the Tākaka River from the river mouth to Cobb Valley to the Wangapeka track. This linked the southern end of Golden Bay with West Coast and Kawatiri districts. The Cobb Valley limestone caves were used by Ngi āt Apa tupuna as urupā and remain tapu toda y. Ngāti Apa lived in a series of ka and kainga along the Tākaka. The tupuna had considerable knowledge of places for gathering kai and other taonga, ways in which to use the resources of the awa and tikanga in a proper and sustainable way. Ngāti Apa valued the Tākaka as an important sour ce of mahinga kai. Its pure water was once abundant in fish such as upokorokoro (gra yling or native trout), as well as inanga, kokopu and eels; and birds such as kereru, kiwi, kakapo, weka, korimako (bellbird) and koko (tui). There were also extensive Ngāti Apa cultivations associated with the rive r. A series of Ngāti Apa pā, kainga and cultivations are therefore associated with the Tākaka River and its environ s. ALPINE TARNS, NELSON LAKES NATIONAL PARK Ngāti Ap a’s relationship with its whenua and wai is integral to its identity as a people. The alpine tarns and lakes located within the Nelson Lakes National Park symbolise for Ngāti Apa people the intense nature of their relationship to their environment, and the mauri or life force that is contained in all parts of the natural environment and binds the spiritual and physical world. The tarns and lakes were discovered and named by Ngāti Apa tupuna. They reflect the importance and purity of water as a taonga that helps link past, present and future generations; in doing so they provide a path to the hereafter. For Ngāti Apa these tarns and lakes are also markers on a series of interwoven trails discovered and used by Ngāti Apa over many centuries as they travelled from one part of their rohe to another. Ngāti Apa tupuna were steeped in knowledge of whakapapa, traditional trails and Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 15 of 163