The name Waiariki comes from Māori and is generally translated as “waters of the gods” or “chiefly waters.” It is deeply connected to geothermal activity in Aotearoa (New Zealand), particularly in the Bay of Plenty region, which is rich in hot springs, geysers, and thermal pools.

Legend of Waiariki – The Waters of the Gods

Long ago, in the time of atua (gods) and great ancestors, a powerful tohunga (priest or healer) named Ngātoroirangi arrived in Aotearoa with the Te Arawa waka (canoe). He was a man of great mana and knowledge, especially in the ways of the earth and the gods.

While traveling inland from the coast, Ngātoroirangi climbed the great mountain Tongariro, but as he ascended, he was caught in a terrible snowstorm. Freezing and near death, he called upon his sisters in the ancient homeland of Hawaiki to send fire to warm him.

His prayer traveled across the vast ocean, and the fire gods heard him. His sisters sent geothermal fire beneath the earth, which followed his trail across the land, rising up through the ground in bursts of steam, hot springs, and geysers — creating the geothermal landscapes we see today.

The sacred geothermal waters that emerged were seen as a gift from the atua, especially Ruaumoko, god of earthquakes and volcanoes, and Pele, a fire goddess in some Pacific traditions. These sacred thermal waters were called Waiariki, meaning "waters of the gods", in honor of their divine origin.

Ngātoroirangi survived, and the geothermal valleys became places of healing, bathing, and spiritual cleansing. The name Waiariki was given to the region to remember both the sacred fire that traveled beneath the land and the tohunga whose connection to the gods brought warmth and life.