December 02, 2019
Mahi tahi unites Tuia 250 flotilla
The co-chair of Tuia 250 commemorations says there has been a huge amount of mahi tahi and sharing among the flotilla of tall ships and waka hourua.
The flotilla has reached Te Whanganui a Tara.
Hoturoa Kerr says crews have switched vessels on the way around the island, so waka crew members have scaled the masts of the tall ships while their counterparts have seen what is needed to make the nimbler Polynesian craft work.
They have also had their eyes open to the way Māori see the land.
"This voyage around the motu didn't just go to places Cook went to. It went to heaps of places our tūpuna found very important in our kōrero and so they have learned a lot about how deep our understanding and belief in the mahi of our tūpuna is. It's been a really great time," Mr Kerr says.
The Endeavour replica will now return to Australia while the rest of the fleet sails on to Māhia to complete the circumnavigation of the North Island.
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