Spirits Bay

History and culture

The Māori tribe of the area is Ngāti Kurī.

The bay was given the official name of Piwhane / Spirits Bay in 2015.

The bay is considered a sacred place in Māori culture as according to local legend, it is the location where spirits of the dead gather to depart from this world to travel to their ancestral home (or afterlife) from a large old pōhutukawa tree above the bay.

The bay has two Māori names, Piwhane and Kapowairua, the latter meaning to "catch the spirit", derived from a Māori language saying that translates into English as: "I can shelter from the wind. But I cannot shelter from the longing for my daughter. I shall venture as far as Hokianga, and beyond. Your task (should I die) shall be to grasp my spirit." The words were spoken by Tōhē, a chief of the Ngāti Kahu people, who is considered one of Muriwhenua’s most important ancestors. Tōhē made his way south, naming more than one hundred places along the western coast, until dying at Whāngaiariki near Maunganui Bluff.

Nature and wildlife

A variety of birds inhabit the bay area such as paradise ducks, New Zealand dotterel, oystercatchers, and Caspian terns. Mosquitos are very numerous.

In September 2010, it was reported that more than eighty pilot whales were beached over five kilometres at Spirits Bay. About forty of these were believed to have died, including some that drowned and others that were euthanized because of injuries from rocks. The rest of the whales were relocated to Rarawa Beach because the weather and sea conditions at Spirits Bay meant refloating the whales there was not possible. Most of the pilot whales that were refloated at Rarawa Beach survived. It was considered to be the largest whale transport ever attempted. This mass whale stranding occurred a month after a pod of fifty-eight pilot whales became stranded at Karikari Beach.

References

References

1. "Kapowairua (Spirits Bay) Campsite". Department of Conservation.
2. [https://www.ngatikuri.iwi.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NK_DOS_Historical_Claims.pdf Deed of Settlement of Historical Claims, Ngati Kuri and the Crown] {{Webarchive. link. (20 February 2025 . Retrieved 23 May 2021.)
3. "Piwhane / Spirits Bay". New Zealand Gazetteer.
4. (17 December 2015). "Notice of Altered Geographic Names for Ngāti Kuri Treaty of Waitangi Settlement 2015, Te Aupouri Treaty of Waitangi Settlement 2015, Te Rarawa Treaty of Waitangi Settlement 2015 and NgāiTakoto Treaty of Waitangi Settlement 2015". New Zealand Gazette.
5. [http://www.itravelnz.com/listing/spirits-bay-kapowairua.html Spirits Bay (Kapowairua)] {{Webarchive. link. (28 July 2016 Retrieved December 2011)
6. [https://teara.govt.nz/en/muriwhenua-tribes/page-1 Muriwhenua tribes: Ancestors] {{Webarchive. link. (30 January 2025 . ''Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Retrieved 23 May 2021.)
7. Plant life at the beach includes paraha vine.[http://www.new-zealand-vacation.info/spirits-bay-new-zealand Spirits Bay New Zealand. Kapowairua. Cape Reinga. NZ North Island]. Retrieved December 2011 {{Webarchive. link. (23 April 2012)
8. [http://news.msn.co.nz/glanceview/129900/pilot-whales-beached-at-spirits-bay.glance Pilot whales beached at Spirits Bay] {{Webarchive. link. (5 May 2014 . news.msn.co.nz. Retrieved December 2011)
9. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4156122/More-than-40-stranded-whales-die More than 40 stranded whales die] {{Webarchive. link. (23 September 2010 . Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved December 2011)
10. [http://www.odt.co.nz/news/tags/spirits-bay Spirits Bay] {{Webarchive. link. (5 May 2014 . ''Otago Daily Times''. Retrieved December 2011)
11. link. (12 January 2014 . NZ Herald. Retrieved December 2011)