Te Moana o Ngā Raukawakawa (Cook Strait) 

According to Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō tradition, once kaihoe (paddlers), wearing tīpare kawakawa to avoid looking at Ngā Whatu Kaipono, got to a safe distance they would remove the headpieces and throw them into the sea, leaving a bed of kawakawa leaves floating on top of the water. Hence the area, later renamed Cook Strait, was known as Te Moana o Raukawakawa, the sea of kawakawa leaves.