Nga Kuri-o-kupe

Ngā Kurī-a-Kupe(The Dogs of Kupe) refers to a group of rock formations in the Hokianga Harbour that, according to Māori tradition, represent the pet dogs of the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe. Legend says that when Kupe prepared to depart from Aotearoa to return to Hawaiki, he left his dogs behind at the Hokianga. These dogs eventually turned into the rock formations visible today on the harbour shore.

These rocks serve as a "gealogical anchor," reinforcing the historical and spiritual connection between the land(whenua) and the earliest Polynesian ancestors.