Mount Manaia, New Zealand. Stock Photography

ACCORDING TO ONE Maori legend there were five brothers, Manaia, Maungaraho, Tokatoka, Motowhitiki and Taungatara, who were disillusioned with their lives in Hawaiki. Under cover of darkness they decided to follow the path of the great explorer Kupe and travel to Aotearoa. At dawn the mighty Atua took away their powers of motion, stranding them in their present resting places.Manaia, Maungaraho, Tokatoka and Motowhitiki all lie in a straight line to Ripiro Beach, where Taungatara, the smallest peak, stands. The songs and legends of Ngapuhi and Ngati Whatua remember this story.Another Maori legend accounts for the five peaks on the summit ridge relating to Manaia and his family. The largest peak represents Manaia himself, the smaller pinnacles are his children, while the last figure is his unfaithful wife, turning her head away in shame.Mt Manaia is the eroded skeleton of an andesite cone, erupted 22–16 million years ago. The layers of andesitic breccia are visible on the summit ridge and rocks in the matrix are visibly exposed on the sides of the pinnacles.