April 06, 2024
Keen anticipation as waka hourua reach Kaiteretere
Waka hourua are arriving at Kaiteretere at the top of the South Island for Te Hau Kōmaru Festival sharing and celebrating the ancestral mātauranga around the voyaging canoes.
Te Hau Kōmaru co-chair Hoturoa Barclay Kerr says it builds on festivals in Kāwhia and Tauranga,
He says Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti from Tauranga has already berthed.
“The other waka, Hinemoana, Tairāwhiti and Te Matau a Maui, we’re hoping they will hit their schedules and arrive tomorrow morning but it has been challenging with the weather. Despite all that we are going to run lots of programmes, matauranga kaupapa and things like that, so it will be good fun and people are quite welcome to come down and participate,” Mr Barclay-Kerr says
Once the festival is over Hinemoana will sail down to Ōtautahi and spend three months running programmes with community groups and kura.