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December 08, 2014
Waka welcome celebrates ancestral connection
Waatea Team
Posted On December 8, 2014
It has been a long journey, but ocean-going waka from Hawaii and other Pacific Islands are now safely on the waters of the Waitemata.
The Hokulea and Hikianalia were welcomed to Okahu Bay yesterday by Ngati Whatua o Orakei, along with Marumaru Atua from the Cook Islands, Gaualofa from Samoa, Uto Ni Yalo from Fiji, and Haunui returning to its home port.
Hoturoa Kerr from Te Toki Voyaging Trust says the early morning entry was like the ancestors may have seen hundreds of years ago.
"It was neat to see all these canoes parked up there and challenging the normal view of what Auckland should look like, so having these waka there coming with good kaupapa and connecting us all from Tamaki Makaurau back to the Pacific Islands and to an ancestral connection was quite powerful," he says.
The waka are now at the Wynyard Quarter, and they will spend summer in new Zealand waters before the Hokulea resumes its journey around the world to highlight issues of ocean sustainability.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH HOTUROA KERR CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjQ3NzA=
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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