Hauraki forms the eastern boundary of the Tainui waka domains. The peninsula is the figurative ama (outrigger) of the canoe with its prow located at Mt Te Aroha and the stern-piece licking the tide at Mt Moehau or Te Wharekaiatua (Cape Colville).
In terms of Te Ikaroa a Maui (North Island of New Zealand), it forms a prominent part of its fish-like configuration. Hauraki tradition likens the North Island to the whai (stingray). Whereas the upoko (head of the fish) is at Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington), the long narrow hiku (tail) lashes to the northern regions of Te Taitokerau (Northland). The inlet of Wellington Harbour with Lake Wairarapa to the east are its whatu (eyes), and Lake Taupo, the pito (navel). Taranaki and the east cape extremities define the outspread hope (wings); the middle mountain chain, its tuararo (spine); and Te Tara-o-Te-Ika (the jagged barb), thrusts out into the Hauraki Gulf and adjoining Pacific.
Consisting of at least 9,000 sq km in area, the present day territorial boundaries of Hauraki are delineated by approximately 700 km of irregular coastline on the east and north, two mountain ranges to the west and inland plains in the south. The peripheries touch on the adjacent tribes of Tamaki, Waikato and Tauranga Moana.
Much of the terrain of Hauraki is rugged and mountainous rising high above the deep valley floor of virgin bush and forest streams. The major waterways have their source in the hinterland catchment and spill over the flat swamplands before emptying out into the inland sea of Tikapa, the Hauraki Gulf. Sculpted inlets and bays gnaw at the shoreline with precipitous headlands keeping a vigilant watch on the offshore islands and seas.
However diverse its geography, the warm temperate climate and inexhaustible food resources enabled generations of early settlers to adapt more than comfortably to their environment. In doing so they gained a most intimate rapport with their surroundings. They selected the most ideal areas for their homes and cultivations, established customary hunting grounds, and built their fortifications.
Like other tribal districts there was not one piece of their territory with which they were not familiar. There was no natural feature which defied description and therefore
