Rākaihautū was the captain of the Uruaokapuarangi canoe (waka) and a Polynesian ancestor of various iwi, most famously of Waitaha and other southern groups, though he is also known in the traditions of Taitokerau and in those of Rarotonga.
[2] Rākaihautū originally sailed with his wife Waiariki-o-āio, their son Te Rakihouia,[a] and their people from Te-patunui-o-āio[b] aboard the Uruaokapuarangi canoe[5][6] over 34 generations ago.
[7] On the journey to the South Island, the heavens and the ocean blocked the canoe's path until Rākaihautū chanted a karakia and cut a passage with his adze.
[10] From Nelson, Rākaihautū and his wife separated from Te Rakihouia and began to explore the Southern Alps.
[5] Upon reaching Foveaux Strait, he then travelled back up along the east coast, reunited with Te Rakihouia, and settled in Banks Peninsula, where he thrust his stick into a hill called Pūhai above Akaroa Harbour, renaming it (the stick) to Tuhiraki.