Take a journey into the heartland of New Zealand’s largest wilderness area, where you feel a spiritual connection with the land and its indigenous people. With chalet accommodation, a café and general store, guided experiences and a warm welcome from locals – a trip to Ruatāhuna is well worth it for an experience like no other.
Ruatāhuna – homeland of the Tūhoe tribe – sits at the heart of New Zealand’s largest indigenous rainforest. It is also known as te Manawa o te ika a Maui – the heart of Maui’s fish. Māui (the mythological demigod from Māori and Polynesian legends) caught a giant fish – the North Island of New Zealand and Ruatāhuna is its heart.
Tūhoe people are born from Te Urewera – the children of the mist. They are mana whenua and kaitiaki (guardians) of the land. At the heart of the experience of Ruatāhuna is the unwavering desire to maintain a thriving and self-sustaining community and environment for mana whenua, the spiritual connection with the land and sharing this with visitors.
