Ōnawe Peninsula
Tidal volcanic headland crowned by a sacred Māori pā site, reached on foot only at low tide.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Ōnawe Peninsula, across Banks Peninsula from Christchurch, turns on one summer around eighteen thirty-two, when a Ngāi Tahu pā on this old volcanic plug faced the Ngāti Toa war leader Te Rauparaha. It follows the musket trade with European whalers and a British captain paid in flax, and asks what a handful of guns was worth. Best heard at low tide, standing at the narrow neck of the peninsula.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Akaroa
French-flavoured harbour village in a drowned volcanic crater, with a dark colonial-era past.
Akaroa Harbour
Sheltered volcanic harbour on Banks Peninsula, once a busy anchorage for flax traders and whalers.
Rapaki track
Gravel fire road climbing the Port Hills along an old Māori route, with harbour and Alps views.
Le Bons Bay
Kilometre-wide sandy beach in a quiet farming valley, with no shops and a river mouth at one end.
Cave Rock / Tuawera
Volcanic seaside outcrop with a walk-through tidal cave, rock pools and a stone signal hut on top.
Awaroa / Godley Head DOC Campsite
Clifftop campsite amid Second World War gun emplacements, with sweeping sea and harbour views.