Tapuae-o-Uenuku, formerly Mount Tapuaenuku,[3] is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island.

[4] At 2,885 metres (9,465 ft) it is the highest mountain in New Zealand outside the main ranges of the Southern Alps, and over 80 metres taller than Mount Ruapehu, the tallest peak in the North Island.

It dominates the Inland Kaikōura Range, rising high above the valleys of the Waiau Toa / Clarence and Awatere Rivers.

It can be seen from as far away as the Kāpiti Coast in the North Island, nearly 165 kilometres away, and is a prominent point on the horizon for travellers on the interisland ferries that ply Cook Strait.

The first European to sight the mountain was James Cook, who called it Mount Odin, but later nicknamed it "The Watcher" since his ship seemed to be visible from it at so many points along the coast.