"There is no other experience like being at the location. Taking in the atmosphere, the sounds and listening to the birds," Timutimu said.
The app uses proximity technology and GPS which meant once the user was close enough to the site, they would unlock the information.
Beacons were placed at eight culturally significant locations, five around the base track of Mauao and three off the mountain, which the app connected to.
The content of the app was written for a user who was non-Māori and who had never been to Tauranga before, something Timutimu said was "very digestible" and easy to use.
Initially, the target audience for the app was international tourists such as cruise ship passengers but Timutimu said over time more domestic visitors and locals were downloading.
"We have had feedback that a lot of locals are learning stories about the area they never realised. It's a fantastic learning tool."
Timutimu said working with local iwi was vital in creating content for the app.
"Everything you hear and experience is based on our research and information gathered from local iwi, so we consider ourselves caretakers of cultural information."
Nga Poutiriao o Mauao was a joint board made up of Tauranga City Council councillors and iwi representatives, and chairman Dean Flavell said the Arataki app provided an insight into the stories local iwi had always shared.
"For Maori, it is natural to be raised and taught our connections to the moana, whenua and certainly our maunga," he said.
He said Timutimu and the Arataki app were an example of a local iwi business that helped deliver the aspiration of local iwi.
