In Māori mythology, Āraiteuru is the canoe in which brought the ancestors the Ngāi Tahu people of the South Island. The canoe was conveyed to New Zealand by the north-east wind, carrying the chiefs Kirikiri-ka-tata, Aroarokaehe, Mangaatua, Aoraki, Kakeroa, Te Horokoatu, Ritua, Ngamautaurua, Pokohiwitahi, Puketapu, Te Maro-tiri-a-te-rehu, Hikuroroa, Pahatea, Te Waioteao, and Hapekituaraki. The fishing net and the water gourd (calabash) of Āraiteuru were turned into stone at Moeraki

Moeraki Boulders

The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden, and are located at . They occur scattered either as isolated or clusters of boulders within a stretch of beach where they...

in the South Island, where they can still be seen. The canoe itself remained at a place called Matakaea (Shag Point) (Tregear 1891:20, White 1887-1891, II:178-179).