Cook Strait Cook Strait Cook Strait () is a strait that separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world. The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name "Raukawa" or "Te Moana-o-Raukawa". "Raukawa" may mean "bitter leaves". In Māori legend, Cook Strait
Mount Pleasant (New Zealand) of those buildings still exist. Mount Pleasant is located in the Port Hills and is high. On its northern slope is the Christchurch suburb of Mount Pleasant, and on its southern side is Lyttelton Harbour. The Māori name of the hill is Tauhinu Korokio, which refers to two native plants. The first, Tauhinu, is a cottonwood ("Ozothamnus leptophyllus") of the genus "Ozothamnus". Korokio is a densely branched "Cotoneaster" ("Corokia cotoneaster"). The New Zealand Geographic Board officially changed the name to Tauhinukorokio/Mount Pleasant in September 1948, which was gazetted in "The New Zealand Gazette" 1949 on page 858. The European name