Mount Hikurangi (Gisborne)

Mount Hikurangi
Te Ara ki Hikurangi (Māori)
Mount Hikurangi, as seen from the Waiapu Valley
Highest point
Elevation	1,752 m (5,748 ft)
Listing	List of mountains of New Zealand by height
Coordinates	37°55′1.49″S 178°3′36.20″E / 37.9170806°S 178.0600556°E / -37.9170806; 178.0600556Coordinates: 37°55′1.49″S 178°3′36.20″E / 37.9170806°S 178.0600556°E / -37.9170806; 178.0600556
Geography
Mount Hikurangi Location in the North Island of New Zealand
Location	Gisborne District, New Zealand
Parent range	Raukūmara Range

Mount Hikurangi (or Te Ara ki Hikurangi in Māori) is a 1,752 m (5,748 ft) peak in the eastern corner of New Zealand's North Island, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Gisborne, and 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of the East Cape Lighthouse. On a spur of the Raukūmara Range in the Waiapu Valley, it is the North Island's highest non-volcanic peak.

Mount Hikurangi is within the rohe of Ngāti Porou, and is the iwi's most significant icon. In Māori mythology, it was the first part of the North Island to emerge when Māui pulled it as a giant fish from the ocean. According to these beliefs, his waka, Nukutaimemeha, became stranded on the mountain, and lies petrified near the mountain's summit. Nine large whakairo (carvings) depicting Māui and his whānau were erected on the mountain to commemorate the millennium in 2000.

Nearby summits include Whanokao (1,428 m or 4,685 ft), Aorangi (1,272 m or 4,173 ft), Wharekia (1,106 m or 3,629 ft) and Taitai (678 m or 2,224 ft). Together, these mountains provide what Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand calls an "awe-inspiring vista".

The peak is traditionally regarded as the first land in the world to catch the rays of the new day's sun, although this claim, like any such claim of its type, is open to interpretation. Certainly it is not true at any time of the year other than the Southern Hemisphere summer, as both Fiji and Tonga are to the east. In summer, however, because of the tilt of the Earth's axis, it does receive the sun's rays earlier than these places. It does not receive them earlier than the Chatham Islands (or, of course, Antarctica), however. This did not stop the mountain gaining world prominence in the celebrations for the new Millennium, however.