Te Ranga-a-Hiwi, the Ridgeline of Hiwi, also called the Mount Albert ridge, home of NZ native birds like the tūī and pīwakawaka (fantail). Wild and also in the city, close to many homes in Island Bay, Houghton Bay and Lyall Bay. Out at sea, the island Tapu Te Ranga is visible and the distant peaks of the South Island, Te Waipounamu.

In myth, the island is held to be the place from which the legendary Maori chief Kupe sighted the giant octopus Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, which he pursued across the waters of Te Moana-o-Raukawa / the Cook Strait.