Updated by: May 5, 2026
The World’s Longest Place Name
“Taumata whakatangi hangakoauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu.”
Not exactly easy to say! This 85-letter Māori name for a hill in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand holds the Guinness World Record for the longest place name in the world.
It translates to “The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, slid, climbed, and swallowed mountains while playing his flute to his beloved.”
I know this name almost by heart — it was written in full on the wall of my wife’s family holiday house by her late father, who visited the town years ago. My wife, daughter and niece turned it into a competition to see who could memorize it first. I heard it recited so many times it became lodged permanently in my memory. A small tribute from a man who clearly appreciated the extraordinary.
I haven’t stood on Tamatea’s summit myself, but I have walked New Zealand in my own way. The Tongariro Crossing — a 20km hike through the North Island — remains one of the most remarkable days I’ve spent on foot. Emerald lakes, active volcanoes, ancient lava fields and landscapes so otherworldly they needed no embellishment.
It wasn’t an easy walk — made harder by the severe sunburn I’d acquired sliding down the snow on Mount Ruapehu with my fiancée the day before. She’s now my wife. Some experiences bond people permanently.
New Zealand takes your breath away twice.
Once literally — the place names alone will stop you mid-sentence. Even the shorter names — Whanganui, Waiheke, Whakarewarewa — carry a musicality that demands you slow down and pay attention.
And once visually — because nothing quite prepares you for what you actually see. Emerald volcanic lakes, ancient lava fields and landscapes so dramatic they became Mordor on screen without needing a single visual effect.
New Zealand is simply breathtaking… in every sense of the word!
Paul Mercuri
Wake Up Here Founder
