Lonely Planet

84 Lonely Planet Traveller October 2017PHOTOGRAPHS:TAU M ATAW H A KATA NG IHANGAKOAUAUOTAMATEATURIPUKAKAPIKIMAUNGAHORONUKUPOKAIWHENUAKITANATAHUWere it not for its monstrous moniker, fewpeople would bother to visit this unassuminghill in New Zealand, but at 85 letters, theGuinness World Records awards it thelongest single-word place name in the world.Roughly translated it means ‘the summitwhere Tamatea, the man with the big knees,the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played hisnose flute to his loved one’. What a name!According to the legend, Maori explorerTamatea fought a battle near the hill duringwhich his brother was killed. Grieving,Tamatea lingered near the battle site, playinga lament to his lost brother on a koauau, orMaori flute. Locals just call it Taumata Hill.OTaumata Hill is near Porangahau in Hawke’s Bay.A sign displaying the name is situated three milesalong Wimbledon Road.``````PIG BEACHThe Bahamas, an alluring chain of islandssurrounded by luminous turquoise waters,is an ideal place to bask in the bright Caribbeansun or snorkel with rainbows of fish. Turns outit’s also the best place in the world to hit thesands with some rather unusual local beachbums: swimming pigs. The southernmost beachon the uninhabited Big Major Cay, part of theExuma Cays, is a porcine paradise, home to agaggle of wild pigs that love nothing more thanto take a daily ocean dip.You can ask Bahamians about how theseporky paddlers arrived in such a place, butyou’ll receive a wide range of answers. Somelocals believe that ships carrying livestock toNassau wrecked off the coast of the islet,leaving the animals to swim ashore to thecay; others think that they were intentionallybrought by explorers (perhaps even Columbushimself) and pirates. Whatever their origin,the pigs are a hit with visitors looking foran unconventional day at the beach. Whilethe animals are indeed feral, they are knownfor their friendly nature and have a habit ofswimming out to greet passing boats, theirsnuffling snouts poking out of the gentle waves.O The Exumas, 38 miles south of Nassau, can beaccessed via flight or ferry (bahamasferries.com).``````PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREY OMELYANCHUK/500PX, SHALAMOV/GETTY, JOHN DE MELLO/ALAMY