Love Your Maunga

Home
New Zealand
Devenport
Love Your Maunga

Love Your Maunga: celebrating the Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountains) of Tāmaki Makaurau.

27/09/2026

It’s Auckland Heritage Week! This year we’re celebrating the history of food and beverage in Tāmaki Makaurau.

As you explore the Tūpuna Maunga, look closely at the whenua. Those gentle depressions in the earth are rua pits, traditional Māori food storage pits where kūmara was kept cool, dry and protected through the winter months.

The volcanic soils of the Maunga created perfect conditions for storing kai, helping preserve harvests and safeguard food supplies for the seasons ahead. Each pit is a quiet reminder of the deep knowledge Māori used to grow, harvest and protect kai for generations.

If you’re curious to see how these pits may have looked, this resource offers a glimpse into traditional food preservation practices: https://matariki.co.nz/food-preservation/

🌋 Next time you’re walking the Maunga, pause and look closer. You might be standing next to a piece of food history.

24/09/2026

🌿 Discover Ōtāhuhu / Mount Richmond

Ōtāhuhu is a Maunga rich in history, culture and geology.

Its name recalls Te Tahuhutanga o Te Waka Tainui — the historic portage of the Tainui waka between the Waitematā and Manukau Harbours, which made the area strategically important to Māori.

Around 30,000 years ago, volcanic activity shaped the Maunga we see today. Look closely and you can still find evidence of its past, including terraces and food storage pits from the pā once located here.

Today, Ōtāhuhu is a much-loved recreational space and home to sports fields enjoyed by the local community. 🌱

📍 671 Mount Wellington Highway, Auckland

23/09/2026

🌿 Keeping our Tūpuna Maunga alcohol and smokefree

All Tūpuna Maunga are alcohol and smokefree spaces, helping protect these treasured places while creating a peaceful, safe and whānau-friendly environment for everyone to enjoy.

By keeping alcohol and smoking off the Maunga, we can reduce litter and fire risk, protect the environment and support the wellbeing of our communities.

Please respect the Maunga, the whenua and those around you. 💚

20/09/2026

From three Maunga to one, the story of Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta lives on.

Did you know Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta / Big King was once made up of three large volcanic cones?

Around 28,500 years ago, a major volcanic eruption created the landscape we know today. Three large volcanic cones stood alongside smaller volcanic features, creating a distinctive landscape that was also home to Māori communities and terraced pā.

From the 1870s, extensive quarrying dramatically changed the Maunga. Over more than a century, two of the three volcanic cones were quarried away, leaving Big King as the only surviving cone.

While much of the original landscape has been lost, the story of Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta continues.

Today, we work in partnership with mana whenua to protect, restore and care for this treasured ancestral landscape, strengthening its native ecosystems and protecting its cultural and archaeological heritage for future generations.

17/09/2026

Te Reo o ngā Tūpuna Maunga 🌿

Want to bring a little more te reo Māori into your next whānau outing?

Here are some simple phrases to try when you’re heading to the Maunga for a hikoi, exploring with tamariki or simply enjoying time together.

You might be surprised how quickly they become part of your everyday reo. 💚

15/09/2026

He Taonga kei te Whenua 🌿
Discover the features of the Tūpuna Maunga

Our Maunga hold many traces of the past — from tūāpapa and terraces to rua pits and other archaeological features.

Next time you’re out on the Maunga, slow down and take a closer look. 👀

Can you spot them?

14/09/2026

Te Ao Māori o te Tūpuna Maunga 🌿

Our Tūpuna Maunga are places of history, culture, nature and connection — and te reo Māori is an important part of how we understand and care for them.

Here are some easy words to learn this week!

13/09/2026

Keen to learn the names of our Tūpuna Maunga? 🌿

Not sure where to start with pronouncing the Māori names of our Tūpuna Maunga?

This Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we’re helping you get started.

Watch our pronunciation guide to the names of the Tūpuna Maunga of Tāmaki Makaurau — and have a go! Karawhuia!

11/09/2026

One last planting day 🌱

Our Tūpuna Maunga Authority team came together to wrap up another busy planting season — with, you guessed it, more planting!

After such a busy season of mahi on the Maunga, working alongside schools, community and volunteer groups, it was a chance for our team to pause, reconnect and spend some time together.

We headed out to Matukutūruru / Wiri Mountain, and wow, what a difference a few years can make. 🌿

Seeing the little plants we planted in previous seasons now growing and becoming part of the landscape is a pretty special reminder of why this mahi matters. Not just for our team, but for the Maunga and for the future of Tāmaki Makaurau.

A huge mihi to the whole team for another incredible season, and a special shout out to our planting crew; Niwa, Jenny, LeRoy, Jes and Jenni — for all the mahi behind the scenes and out on the whenua. 💚

Here’s to another season of growing, learning and caring. See you next year!

Address

Devenport

Website

http://maunga.nz/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Love Your Maunga posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your business to be the top-listed event/venue in Devenport?