Tapuae-o-Uenuku, formerly Mount Tapuaenuku, is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. The name translates from Māori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 as "footprint of the rainbow", though is usually regarded as being named after Chief Tapuaenuku.

At 2885 metres it is the highest mountain in New Zealand outside the main ranges of the Southern Alps

Southern Alps

The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...

, and over 80 metres taller than the tallest peak in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

.

It dominates the Inland Kaikoura Range

Kaikoura Ranges

The Kaikoura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand.Formed along New Zealand's Marlborough Fault System, they can be seen as the northernmost extension of the Southern Alps in the South Island....

, rising high above the valleys of the Clarence

Clarence River, New Zealand

Clarence River is located on South Island of New Zealand. It is 160 kilometres long.For its first 50 kilometres, the river runs in a generally southeastern direction. It then turns northeast, running down a long straight valley between the Inland and Seaward Kaikoura Ranges...

 and Awatere River

Awatere River

The Awatere River is a large river flowing through Marlborough, New Zealand. Flowing along the trace of the active Awatere Fault, it runs northeast through a straight valley to the west of the Inland Kaikoura mountains...

s.