Post #285062 by Tamapoutini on Mon, Feb 12, 2007 11:35 AM

On 2007-02-06 13:04, tikigap wrote:
GET OUTTA HERE! MAITAI Valley? How cool is that! What's MAITAI translate to there (besides the cocktail!)?

Mai = 'towards the speaker' Tai = 'sea/tide'

Im guessing that the fellow who named the Maitai River/Valley was standing at the river mouth, looking back..??

As mentioned by Paipo, the Maitai River was a favoured collecting ground for workable stone. There is a large source of argillite; a fine-grained & metamorphically/tectonically 'cooked' siltstone. This stone is very hard & responds well to '(k?)napping'/chipping; ie breaks with a conchoidal fracture (like glass). Perfect for adzeheads & used extensively in 'pre-contact' times. Adzes made from this source have been found 1000s of miles from the quarry site.

There is also some very hard grossular garnet (almost like agate) which has some interesting patterns/colours, the best stuff good for jewellery work.

Good swimming & fishing too (but not as tasty as the rum-infused version :wink: )

Cheers! Tama :)