Kupe was a legendary Polynesian explorer who, according to Māori oral history, was the first person to discover New Zealand. He is generally held to have been born to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea, and probably spoke a Māori proto-language similar to Cook Islands Māori or Tahitian. His voyage to New Zealand ensured that the land was known to the Polynesians, and he would therefore be responsible for the genesis of the Māori people.

Kupe was born in the geographically uncertain Māori homeland of Hawaiki, to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea, between 40 and 23 generations ago. The more specific reasons for Kupe's semi-legendary journey, and the migration of Māori in general, have been contested. Māori oral history recounts that Hawaiki and other Polynesian islands were experiencing considerable internal conflict during his time, which is thought to have possibly caused an exodus.

Kupe features prominently in the mythology and oral history of some Māori iwi (tribes), but the details of his life differ between iwi. Various legends and histories describe Kupe's extensive involvement in the settlement of New Zealand, around 1000–1300 CE, with many talking of his achievements, such as the hunting and destruction of the great octopus, Te Wheke-a-Muturangi.

The historical Kupe is thought to have been born in the uncertain Māori homeland of Hawaiki, to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea. At the time of his journey, he lived in the settlement of Hawaiki-rangi. He was well educated in Polynesian navigation, and likely spoke the hypothetical proto-Māori language, which would have been most similar to Cook Islands Māori or Tahitian. There are many different accounts of Kupe's first voyage to New Zealand that range from tribe to tribe, but most follow a similar basic story. Most histories claim that in a time approximately 40 generations ago (between 900 and 1200 AD), Kupe, his wife Kuramārōtini, the great warrior Ngahue, and a relatively large crew, boarded Kuramārōtini's canoe Matahourua (or in some dialects Matawhaorua). According to the Waitangi Tribunal's Wai 262 report, Matawhaorua was a classical Polynesian open-ocean catamaran, capable of carrying a complement of 25 people under sail or paddle, fully provisioned. It is said that at first Kupe had some difficulty filling the waka, with only a few members from Hawaiki-rangi with him. The report states he eventually found the remaining crew at Pikopikoiwhiti, a nearby village "renowned for its ready supply of adventurers". Seven more were added from there. Some oral histories say he travelled with a second catamaran, Tāwhirirangi, under the stewardship of the navigator Te Ngake.

Matawhaorua set sail for lands further to the south in pursuit of the great octopus of his rival, Muturangi. Matawhaorua is thought to have journeyed towards Te Tai Tokerau. As the waka neared land for the first time, Kuramārōtini saw a thick layer of cloud on the horizon. She is then believed to have exclaimed "He ao! He ao! He ao tea roa!" meaning, ‘A cloud! A cloud! A long white cloud!’. Recognising a large cloud as a symbol of land, Kupe led the waka towards the land, where it is believed his party made their first landing at the Hokianga Harbour. From here, Kupe and Kuramārōtini continued his voyage around the country. He sailed down the coast of the Wairarapa and landed in Wellington Harbour, staying there for some time and naming the islands of Matiu (Somes Island) and Mākaro (Ward Island) after his daughters. A legend says that Kupe then continued his pursuit of Muturangi's octopus, eventually destroying it with a blow to its head after a fierce battle in the Cook Strait. In some versions of the story he travelled as far south as Arahura on the South Island's West Coast, and also to the Coromandel Peninsula.

The Waitangi Tribunal claims that Kupe and his crew remained in New Zealand for as many as 20 years before deciding to return home. Kupe sailed back via Hokianga Harbour, where he sacrified his son Tuputupu-whenua, drowning him in the spring of Te Puna-o-te-ao-Mārama to guard the land from under the water while he was gone. According to oral history, Kupe believed sacrificing his son would ensure the mauri (life essence) of his whakapapa (descent line) would remain in Aotearoa permanently, even though he would be gone. He then said a karakia, vowing never to return before leaving for Hawaiki. The full name of the harbour is Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe; "the place of Kupe's great return".

Hei konei rā, e Te Puna-o-te-ao-mārama, ka hokianga nui ake nei tēnei, e kore anō e hokianga nui mai.

Roughly thirty years later, Matawhaorua was thoroughly renovated and refitted under the leadership of Nukutawhiti, Kupe's grandson. The canoe was renamed Ngātokimatawhaorua, which translates literally to "the re-adzed Matawhaorua". Nukutawhiti had memorised his grandfather's navigational instructions for reaching Aotearoa, knowing off by heart the star path to follow to get there. Under his stewardship, the journey was no longer burdened with undue risk and ignorance of the geography of lands further south. This time Nukutawhiti travelled for the express purpose of settling Aotearoa, so he thoroughly extended Ngātokimatawhaorua to take more passengers.