Kura Tawhiti. Castle Hill, New Zealand
The enigmatic realm of Kura Tawhiti, known to many as Castle Hill, sits in the middle between the east and west coast of New Zealand' southern island. Its otherworldly terrain of limestone boulders, sculpted by time and nature into shapes seems reminiscent of ancient castles. It's an inspiring place named by Dalai Lama the "spiritual center of the universe".
Kura Tawhiti. Castle Hill, New Zealand
To the Maori tribe of Ngai Tahu, this place holds profound historical, spiritual, and cultural significance. Known as "Kura Tawhiti" in the Maori tongue, which translates to "treasure from afar," Castle Hill is revered as a sacred site. In Waitaha lore, the area is known as 'te Kohanga' or the 'birthplace of the Gods'.
In the Polynesian tradition the origins of humanity is deeply intertwined with the natural world. The primordial parents, Ranginui (the sky) and Papatūānuku (the earth), gave birth to Tāne, the forefather of humanity. Tāne created a woman named Hineahuone from the earth symbolizing the feminine essence arising from the soil. Hineahuone bore a daughter from Tāne named Hinetītama. She served as the guardian of the boundary between darkness and light, dusk and dawn, revered both at sunrise, with the emergence of daylight, and at sunset. These figures are revered as the ancestors of humankind and no better place to worship them as in Castle Hill.
Kura Tawhiti. Castle Hill, New Zealand
Kura Tawhitil served as an astronomical observatory for predicting seasons and weather patterns, with a considerable population migrating from the coast during summer to tend to the sacred kumara vegetable. The limestone geology, believed to be built up by ancient creatures since the dawn of time, was considered sacred, with prominent leaders like Rakaihautu buried here, the first to explore and inhabit the South Island around 850AD.
Kura Tawhiti. Castle Hill, New Zealand
When you hike in Castle Hill area you feel like in the land of Rohan. The Lord of the Rings' shooting location was not here but a bit to the south in Mount Sunday, but the landscape is reminiscent of the Tolkien's imagined Middle Earth. However other movies had scenes shot here.
Devil's punchbowl, New Zealand
Around Castle Hill the mountains are rocky and dry. Its grass is deep but yellow and is barely any other vegetation like the wind terrified any trace of a plant that would have tried to stick out. But if you cross the pass the orographic effect takes over and the vegetation changes radically morphing into a temperate rain forest. Its first sign you find if you hike to several falls in Arthurs Pass, Bride's Veil and Devil's Punchbowl, the last one a superb waterfall that no image would make it justice.
Otira Stagecoach Hotel, New Zealand
And if you are hungry or like us afraid that all kitchens will be closed when we'd arrive in Hokitika, share a meal with Smeagol and other wizards surrounded by an incredible amount of shlock in the Otira Stagecoach Hotel.
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