Aotearoa or 'Land of the long white cloud' was the name given by the legendary navigator Kupe to the islands ahead of him and his companions following their journey across the Pacific around the 10th century AD. As they sailed closer, the clouds that gathered over Aotearoa stretched left and right as far as the eye could see.

New Zealand is still known to Maori as Aotearoa and indeed many New Zealanders prefer to refer to the land as Aotearoa New Zealand.