Let’s go on a Kai Moana Hunt! Head to Caroline Bay Playground to have some free fun, and learn about who lives in our sea, reefs, wetlands and lagoons!
2 million years ago, lava flowed like fingers down sloping plains, helping to shape the terrain of Kā Poupou-a-Rakihouia (the South Canterbury coastline). This volcanic reef also shaped the natural harbour, wetlands and coastline of Timaru, Te Tihi-o-Maru.
Ngāi Tahu used to travel 3-5 days on foot between lakes Wairewa (south of Christchurch) and Waitarakao (Washdyke Lagoon) connecting the settlements of Te Pātaka-a-Rākaihautū (Banks Peninsula) with coastal kāinga to the south, including the famous Te Waiateruatī pā.
To prepare for seasonal expeditions, Māori gathered food around Caroline Bay and neighbouring wetlands, lagoons and rivers.
Maori use kete (woven bags used to gather food) from Te Kouka Cabbage Trees and Harakeke Flax bushes.
Wetlands and coarse gravel beaches eventually gave way to a new sandy shore, and the Pohatu-koko Stream (Whalers Creek) is now underground, piped beneath the current Caroline Bay playground, to the sea.
The changing shape of the coast also accelerated coastal erosion further north, affecting Waimataitai Lagoon (now Ashbury Park) and Waitarakao Washdyke Lagoon.
These plants and animals are Taonga (treasures) because: they are central to the identity and well being of many Māori. They also have an important role in healthy eco-systems.
The coastline was abundant in marine life and offered bountiful mahika kai (food resources) for local Māori. There was an abundance of fish and shellfish on the reefs, plenty of sea birds, eggs and seal pups on the coast and tuna (eels), waterfowl and freshwater fish in the estuaries and rivers. Tuna (eel) and inaka (whitebait) patete (fish), and kōareare (the edible rhizome of raupō/bullrushes) were also important staples of the area.
Travel by sea was common and much faster than travelling by land. Many settlements were within sight of each other and only hours away in settled weather by waka (canoe) or the double-hulled waka hunua. Trading of food and resources between villages up and down the coast was an important part of the economy. Pounamu (greenstone) and titi (sooty shearwaters /muttonbirds) were sent north to trade in return for kūmara, taro, stone and carvings.
Rivers were like highways inland. Tākata whenua (local people) foraged inland for weka, ducks, harakeke (flax), aruhe (fern root/bracken) and tī kōuka (cabbage tree) and lowland forests provided a wide range of timber and forest birds.
Southern Māori developed a special vessel to navigate the fast-flowing braided rivers: the mōkihi. Made from bundled raupō (bullrushes) or kōrari (the flower stakes of the harakeke flax bush). They were lightweight, sturdy and could be made on the spot to guide down the river carrying heavy loads. The largest mōkihi could carry up to half a tonne in weight.
It was a long trek from the coast to the inland lakes and mountains, but mōkihi could make the return journey in a single day. Because there was no way to bring them back up-river they were often used just once. If they were to cross a river, there were left in a dry spot for the next party to use.
Local Māori communities have faced massive changes over the past 150 years as a result of European settlement, including loss of traditional food resources especially as the coastline changed and the city expanded.
