True North

New Zealand dangles into the depths of the Pacific Ocean like two pieces of an ancient jigsaw puzzle, created 100 million years ago when it broke away from the Gondwana supercontinent. In Maori mythology, however, it’s the demigod Māui who brought the North and South Island into being.

Using a fishhook carved from the jawbone of his ancestor, Māui caught a gigantic fish as big as an island, which his brothers helped him haul to the surface. The older brothers were supposed to wait until the God of the sea had been appeased before cutting up the fish, but they grew impatient and began to carve out pieces for themselves. These became the valleys, mountains, lakes and rocky coastlines of the North Island, which is still known to the Maori as Te Ika a Maui, or Māui’s fish, while the South Island is known as Te Waka a Maui – Māui’s canoe.

The crew must have scooped out a few extra bits around State Highway 1, where