Aotearoa waka sails to Waitangi

SETTING SAIL: Final preparations get under way for the trip to Waitangi in the Mahurangi River on Thursday morning

Relevant offers

Mahurangi River visitors had a treat on Thursday as the sailing canoe or waka Aotearoa One was getting ready to set sail for Wai-tangi.

The six-year-old craft, owned by training organisation Te Wananga o Aotearoa, is normally based at Gulf Harbour but had been at Robertson Boats in Warkworth getting a major overhaul.

A group of students from secondary schools around the Rotorua and Waikato areas were getting ready to set sail for Waitangi Day celebrations at Waitangi, where one of the largest gatherings of waka in recent times was held.

The adventure was organised by the Te Toki Voyaging Trust with trustee Hoturoa Kerr on board.

"New Zealand has a big maritime history base, not just for Maori but generally," he says. "We are hopeful the experience will encourage these youngsters to look at maritime careers."

The waka, which can carry up to 50 people including crew, sails each year to the Waitangi celebrations, Te Wananga o Aotearoa sailing co-ordinator and coastguard tutor Stuart Birnie says.

The naming of the craft Aotearoa One, combining both Maori and Pakeha words by the original tumaki or chief executive, is significant, he says. The Maori word Aotearoa stands for Maori and Pacific Island people and the English word "one" for Pakeha and others in New Zealand, with the combined words representing one country and one people.

- © Fairfax NZ News