Te Wai Pounamu

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Te Wai Pounamu is the most commonly used Māori name for New Zealand's South Island.

Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the southern region of New Zealand, utilised the very hard greenstone (jade) to make adzes and other implements, as well as ornaments. Particularly valued was a paler nephrite which the Māori called inanga, gathered in a remote area near what is now called the Dart Valley. Māori named the district wahi pounamu, meaning "greenstone place", and the South Island came to be called Te Wahi Pounamu. This somehow evolved into Te Wai Pounamu which means "the greenstone water" but bears no relation to the original meaning.

The largest city is Christchurch/Otautahi. Other cities are Nelson, Blenheim, Dunedin, and Invercargill. If you are travelling by ferry from Wellington on the North Island you will arrive at Picton. Te Wai Pounamu has the greatest variety of natural beauty in Aotearoa - snow-capped mountains, fiords, glaciers, rain forest, rolling hills (green and brown) rugged coasts, deserted beaches. Te Wai Pounamu's natural beauty was most famously seen in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.