At the bottom of the north island Remutaka maunga separates the Wairarapa from Wellington.

Remutaka means to sit down and rest as described in the story of Haunuiananaia.

People have lived on both the western and eastern sides of Remutaka for hundreds of years. They have also traversed the maunga by way of tracks, the most well-known to¬day followed a similar route to the Rimutaka hill Road between Featherston and Kaitoki.

Some very well-known historical events have occurred around the foot hills of Remutaka. These include 1820s/30s battles that led to the virtual abandonment of the region by tangata whenua, reference to the Remutaka as a boundary line when negotiations for peace was agreed to for the people to return and the earliest European explorers and settlers

Ki te kohu te Turakirae, ka mate te tangata - ‘If there is mist on Turakirae, people die’

Turakirae is the western headland of Palliser Bay, just east of Wellington Harbour. The saying arose from the legend of a beautiful daughter of a local chief, Miriana. She was courted and wooed in vain by many young chiefs from far and wide.

Meanwhile a slave who had been captured in battle was assigned to serve her, He fre¬quently followed on her errands into the forest and to the beach. As time passed she grew increasingly attached to him. This relationship remained in secret for some time but eventually was discovered by old women of the tribe.

When her father heard about it he was furious and ordered the slave killed in front of her. The slave, unwilling to submit himself to such an end threw himself off Turakirae. In time Miriana gave birth to twin sons. While her standing was not to be changed, the boys were to be accorded the same status as their father. At last overburdened by the sorrow of her lover’s death and the daily spectacle of her mistreated sons, she gathered them up and followed their father’s route over the same cliff.

Nowadays when the cliff is clear it is taken as a sign that Miriana is happy with her sons in the spirit world. When it is misted over, however, it is taken as a warning that she is angry and people will die.

The map below is where Remutaka is located.