Ngā-Tapuwae-o-te-Mangai


With its two domed towers (Arepa and Omeka, alpha and omega) and the Rātana emblem of the star and crescent moon, you could be forgiven for mistaking this temple for a mosque. Rātana is a Māori Christian sect with more than 50,000 adherents, formed in 1925 by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, who was known as ‘the mouthpiece of God’. The temple is built on land where Rātana once stood, and the name translates as 'the sacred steps of the mouthpiece'.

You'll pass it at Te Kao, 46km south of Cape Reinga.


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