Te Mata Peak (399m)

According to Maori legend, Te Mata Peak (above) is the body of Maori chief, Te Mata O Rongokako, who had set out to woo a rival chief's daughter.

She set him many seemingly impossible tasks, which he accomplished with ease but, when she told him to eat his way through the hill, he choked on a large rock and dropped to the ground where he still lies today.

The Te Mata Peak Walkway (30-minutes drive south of Napier) will take you to a vantage point with views of the surrounding Heretaunga Plains, Hawke Bay, the towns of Havelock North, Hastings and Napier. Mt Ruapehu (in the opposite direction from Gerard's photo) is visible on a clear day.

Allow an hour for the return walk but you can cheat and drive most of the way by car.