Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Rapaki Track is a public road running from St Martins up to the Summit Road, in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, commonly known as Rāpaki or Rapaki, is a small settlement within the Lyttelton Harbour basin.
Rāpaki is one of four Banks Peninsula rūnanga (communities) based around marae (tribal meeting grounds). The Rāpaki Marae, also known as Te Wheke Marae, is a meeting ground of Ngāi Tahu and its Hapū o Ngāti Wheke branch. Its wharenui (meeting house), called Te Wheke, opened in 2008, was carved by Riki Manuel and Fayne Robinson, with tukutuku panels overseen by local weaver 'Aunty' Doe Parata. The carvings of the wharenui trace the almost 400 years of continuous settlement related to the arrival of the ancestor Te Rakiwhakaputa.
Te Wheke wharenui at Rapaki Marae
Rāpaki is overlooked by the peak Te Poho o Tamatea. According to one legend, the Ngāi Tahu chief Te Rakiwhakaputa named the place by laying his waist mat (rāpaki) down to claim it. The full name of Rāpaki is Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, meaning the waist mat of Te Rakiwhakaputa. On 8 July 2020, the New Zealand Geographic Board assigned the full name as the official name of the locality.
Assistant : Cayleb Clayton
Drone footage : Supplied
Dog : Chino
Rapaki Track is a public road running from St Martins up to the Summit Road, in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, commonly known as Rāpaki or Rapaki, is a small settlement within the Lyttelton Harbour basin.
Rāpaki is one of four Banks Peninsula rūnanga (communities) based around marae (tribal meeting grounds). The Rāpaki Marae, also known as Te Wheke Marae, is a meeting ground of Ngāi Tahu and its Hapū o Ngāti Wheke branch. Its wharenui (meeting house), called Te Wheke, opened in 2008, was carved by Riki Manuel and Fayne Robinson, with tukutuku panels overseen by local weaver 'Aunty' Doe Parata. The carvings of the wharenui trace the almost 400 years of continuous settlement related to the arrival of the ancestor Te Rakiwhakaputa.
Te Wheke wharenui at Rapaki Marae
Rāpaki is overlooked by the peak Te Poho o Tamatea. According to one legend, the Ngāi Tahu chief Te Rakiwhakaputa named the place by laying his waist mat (rāpaki) down to claim it. The full name of Rāpaki is Te Rāpaki-o-Te Rakiwhakaputa, meaning the waist mat of Te Rakiwhakaputa. On 8 July 2020, the New Zealand Geographic Board assigned the full name as the official name of the locality.
Assistant : Cayleb Clayton
Drone footage : Supplied
Dog : Chino
