SACRED RIVER
he Hangatahua (Stony) River has always been a special river to the people of Taranaki. The river is referred to in Māori mythology with the arrival of Mt Taranaki and is commonly regarded as the most sacred river in Taranaki. I remember summers in the seventies and eighties, returning from surf trips and stopping at the Stony River bridge to dive into a refreshing clear pool. It was an invigorating ritual. The bubbling mountain water tumbles seawards over large rounded boulders from its source in the mighty Ahukawakawa Swamp between the Pouakai Range and Mt Taranaki. After a journey
