Mokai Kingi and David Ihaka met at Raggamuffin in 2010 and have been to every One Love festival together since it began in 2014. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Mokai Kingi and David Ihaka met at Raggamuffin in 2010 and have been to every One Love festival together since it began in 2014. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Rotoruareggae fans Mokai Kingi and David Ihaka celebrate 15 years of friendship and attending reggae festivals.
Kingi will miss this year’s One Love festival in Tauranga due to commitments, but Ihaka will attend solo.
The two-day festival features more than 50 artists, including Maoli, Rebel Souljahz and Katchafire, at Wharepai Domain.
For the first time in 11 years, Rotorua reggae fans Mokai Kingi and David Ihaka won’t attend Tauranga’s annual One Love festival together.
The pair, both 55, met in 2010 after noticing each other as the brightest and most festively dressed at a different reggae festival, Raggamuffin, and have been mates ever since.
“I was dressed up, he was dressed up. [I saw him] and said ‘look at that guy, I should go say hello’. No one else was dressed up,” Kingi said.
They have been to every One Love festival together since it began in 2014, and say they have VIP passes “for life”, but because of other commitments this weekend, Kingi will not be joining Ihaka at Tauranga’s biggest summer music festival.
That did not stop the pair getting together this week to celebrate their 15-year friendship born from a shared love of reggae, before Ihaka takes off for Wharepai Domain.
For Ihaka, going to the festival solo was not a problem.
“I have never missed a One Love festival,” he said.
Last year more than 15,000 people from as far abroad as Japan and Finland attended.
David Ihaka will attend the One Love festival at Tauranga's Wharepai Domain solo for the first time in 11 years. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
With carefully styled outfits for the two-day festival splashed with red, yellow, green and black, Ihaka’s outfit ensured he would stand out in the crowd.
He had a new addition this year of LED gloves to go with his LED dreadlocks, hat and other accessories from previous years.
Ihaka said he got LED lights to boost the festive spirit at night.
“I was looking around the crowd [at night time] and there was no life, so I decided to put lights on my hat, on my dreads, on my gloves and my shoes,” he said.
He wore his LED accessories for every festival.
“I always get photos with people and love seeing them smile and be happy, it makes me feel good.”
This year’s One Love heavyweight acts included international and iconic artists Maoli, Rebel Souljahz, Katchafire, J Boog, Inner Circle, Fiji and Steel Pulse.
Corrella, Magic!, 1814, Spawnbreezie, Adeaze, House of Shem, Tomorrow People and Ardijah were also among the 50-plus artists set to take the stage.
“I like Corella, they are an awesome band,” Ihaka said.
The Rotorua Daily Post met Ihaka and Kingi at the latter’s new Jah Pad, a room decorated with 15 years of merchandise from Raggamuffin and One Love festivals gone by, among other reggae displays.
Mokai Kingi renamed his reggae-themed man cave the Jah pad and said it was a place to share good memories with friends and family members. Photo / Aleyna Martinez
Kingi said his love for iconic Jamaican singer Bob Marley made it easy for his family to choose birthday presents.
“They already know, Bob Marley.”
Kingi still had plenty of Marley memorabilia in storage. “I’ll have to wait until I win Lotto, then I can extend it”.
The two mates camouflaged into the walls as they remembered good times with friends and whānau at festivals over the years.
“The people, the vibes and the crowd are just lovely,” Kingi said.
“With reggae music, like, 95% of the music is [the vibe of] everyone, it’s the lyrics to the music.
“Like Bob Marley, you listen to his songs. He sang about his people, their rights and all sorts of things,” Kingi said.
Kingi’s Bob Marley memorabilia included collector’s items like plaques “you can’t get any more” and classic vinyl albums, including Legend – a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
David Ihaka (left) and Mokai Kingi in the latter's man cave in 2020, prior to the move into the Jah Pad. Photo / Stephen Parker
Friends and family had nicknamed Kingi’s man cave the Museum in the Past. It recently moved from its original space into his wife’s family home and adopted the Jah Pad moniker.
The couple moved to her parents' property to care for them as they got older, Kingi said.
He said he still planned to go to One Love next year, and especially looked forward to the Kiwi acts on their new dedicated stage.
A festival spokesperson said One Love was for the people and the organisers loved “seeing the same faces there every year”.
“The crowd is always in positive spirits and always there to enjoy reggae music in the company of thousands of other reggae fans.
“Reggae music is powerful and brings people together. We appreciate everyone who attends, especially our long-time attendees such as David and Mokai.”
One Love 2025 is billed as a massive celebration of reggae music, unity and good vibes. Photo / One Love
The details: One Love festival
When: Saturday and Sunday, gates open 11am
Where: Wharepai Domain, Tauranga
Who: R18
Transport: Pick-up/drop-off zone in Durham St. No parking on site. Buses departing from Cameron Rd from 7.30pm with various drop-off locations.
One Love Festival road closures.
Road closures
From 9.30am Saturday to 6am Monday, these roads will be closed:
Cameron Rd from Brown St to Hamilton St
Harington St from Durham St to Cameron Rd
Park St from Cameron Rd to Willow St
Park St from Willow St to Cliff Rd
Cliff Rd in its entirety
Monmouth St from Cameron Rd to Willow St
Monmouth St from Willow St to Cliff Rd
McLean St from Cameron Rd to Willow St
Brown St from Willow St to Cliff Rd
Mission St from Chapel St to Cliff Rd.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
