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Introducing The King Country
Holding good claim to the title of NZ’s rural heartland, this is the kind of no-nonsense place that raises cattle and All Blacks. A bastion of independent Maoridom, it was never conquered in the war against the King Movement. The story goes that King Tawhiao placed his hat on a large map of NZ and declared that all the land it covered would remain under his mana (authority), and the region was effectively off limits to Europeans until 1883.
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At this stage it was still largely covered by Te Nehe-nehe-nui (the big forest) and home to Ngati Maniapoto, descended from the Tainui migration. After allowing railway surveyors to assess the land, Maori control was gradually chipped away. An example is the Waitomo Caves, which were taken by the Crown in 1906 and only returned to its rightful owners in 1989.
The caves are the area’s major drawcard. An incredible natural phenomenon in themselves, they’ve been sexed up even more with a smorgasbord of adrenaline-inducing activities on offer.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
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