Hikurangi first to the run for Te Matatini spot

East Coast kapa haka Te Pariha o Hikurangi had a frantic morning after their bus didn't arrive to take them to their Te Matatini slot.

The roopu, in full costume, had to take public transport from Te Herenga Waka to the Westpac Stadium.

Supporter Gerry Heeney says with less than half an hour to go, the roopu made a dash from Herenga Waka Marae in Keburn on city busses and whānau cars to the Wellington Railway Station.

"A run through platform 7 and 8, up the ramp to the Cake tin. The work the girls go through in the morning, that was almost ruined. The hair, the nails, the everything. Racing up that ramp across the front of the stadium and then down to the meeting point at the back there," she says.

Gerry Heeney says the consensus was the kapa would have been better off if they had brought their horses with them.

Wellington Council has warned commuters to expect heavy traffic and parking restrictions because of Te Matatini.

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