Food and love. It was this very combination (well, sort of), which formed Te Mata Peak in Hawke's Bay, so says Maori legend.
The legend tells of Maori chief, Te Mata O Rongokako; a giant of a man who preyed upon Heretaunga.
The Heretaunga chief's daughter was very beautiful, and after seeing her, Te Mata O Rongokako decided to woo her rather than make war.
She set him many seemingly impossible tasks, which he accomplished until she told him to eat his way through a nearby hill. The giant began to plough his way through the hill, but choked on a large rock and dropped to the ground.
He still lies there today, in the Te Mata hillscape and it is the lumbering form that can be seen high above the hills of Havelock North, a quaint village just outside Hastings.
Rising 399 metres above sea level, a drive up to its peak will give you panoramic views across to the east coast beach of Mahia and the ski slopes of Mt Ruapehu (in the distance).
It will also give you an easy viewing platform across to the Ruahine Ranges – and neighbouring boutique holdings who leverage divine wines and epicurean delights out of the region's warm and dry climate.