June 10, 2013
Waka see in the New Year
The double hulled ocean voyaging canoe, Te Matau ā Maui, is in Wellington this week joining in celebrations to mark Te Matahi ō te Tau, the Māori New Year.
On the weekend the waka, whose home port is Ahuriri or Napier, was escorted across Te Whanganui ā Tara by the waka Te Rerenga Kotare and Te Hononga.
Its voyages across the Pacific Ocean have been captured in photographs now on show at the Wharewaka on the Wellington waterfront.
Tamahou Temara from Toi Māori says the show was called Vikings of the Sunset after the 1938 book of the same name by Te Rangi Hiroa, Sir Peter Buck, which recorded much of what was known at the time about Polynesian voyaging traditions.
During the week, there will be opportunities to go on board Te Matau ā Maui and to attend workshops about the crews’ voyaging experiences, star navigation and the ocean environment.
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