The Mt Titiraupenga land is Máori owned and governed by the Titiraupenga Trust. Te Putahitanga O Nga Ara Trust support the venture of Awhina Wilderness Experience on the Mountain.
The area has a great cultural, spiritual and historical significance to the Pouakani people, a community between Lake Taupo and Mangakino.
Their ancestors looked upon the land as the mother of life, from her they were able to feed, house and clothe themselves. They saw themselves as ‘the people who belong to the land’ as opposed to ‘the land belonging to the people.’
Mt Titiraupenga rises 1042 metres above sea level and is located 30km from Lake Taupo. Estimated at 1.89 million years old, the mountain is a much older bed rock than others in the area such as Ruapehu, Tongariro and Tarawera.
The history of the land dates back to AD181 at the time of the Lake Taupo eruption. The eruption nearly destroyed everything in a 100km radius including the majority of the virgin forest that blanketed the Central North Island. Mt Titiraupenga shielded the area of native bush that still stands as an ecological time capsule.
The view above is taken from the slopes of Titiraupenga and looks back to the small mountains Kaahu and Whakakaahu in the nearby settlement of Whakamaru.
Today, the Mt Titiraupenga land is a taonga of national significance to the Pouakani people who wish to share the untouched land with you in a private and personalised guided tour.
A group of the Pouakani shareholders and friends standing proudly in front of a magnificent 1000 year old Totara tree.
