Star man on Matariki watch

Pita Turei has been on star watch for a good long stretch.

The self-described celestial navigator has celebrated Matariki for 17 years, and promises first-time urban star-gazers that the magic moments will make themselves.

One of his rituals is observing the dawn. He remembers a time when a trio of tui turned up and watched human proceedings from a nearby branch.

"If you are there, you don't even question it," says the Maori film-maker, conservationist, historian and father-of-four.

Through trial and error and "feeling out ideas" that work, the Kingsland man is more than happy to give tips for intrepid beginners.

It's winter. Expect the unexpected. Sometimes you will see something, sometimes you won't.

"It's very unpredictable. Sometimes it's very wet," he says, and might be best observed "through windscreen wipers".

If you want your teenagers to join in, invite their friends.

Find the significant places — North Head, Motutapu, Rangimatariki, Motuihenga, Mt Eden — go there without light and stay on the land, if you're keen, every weekend for a month.

If you're thinking about a dawn hangi, think again.

Not only is a permit needed to light a fire, no one is all that hungry that early — though they may appreciate coffee and croissants.

Because he's Maori, Turei feels a responsibility to observe an old cultural practice, which he fears might otherwise slip from use. But he also believes Matariki is for everyone.

It empowers us all, he says, to be conscious of where we are in the world. It allows us to participate.

"It's not actually in the hands of any one person, everybody has something to contribute to it. Everybody's got a volcano nearby, so just go up it."

Oh, and one last tip: If you want to celebrate but you're not a morning person, join in from the comfort of your home.

"Open your blinds. Ring your mum. It's an open dawn."

What is it?

Matariki is a constellation visible from most parts of the world at some time. From Aotearoa, it can be seen at several times of the year in different parts of the sky

Other names for the stars include the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters and Subaru.

There are about 500 stars in the constellation, but only six or seven are visible with the naked eye

Not all Maori celebrate Matariki the same way, though most agree it does mark seasonal change, the beginning of the end of winter. Some iwi celebrate as soon as the stars appear in the dawn sky. For others, it's the full moon, or the next new moon

To Greek sailors the constellation was a sign that the weather was safe for long voyages

When the stars are clear and bright, expect warm weather and plentiful harvest. When they're blurry, expect the opposite.

- AUCKLANDER