Celebrated waka in Waitangi flotilla

TRIPLE TREAT: Three of the many waka paddled through the waters off Te Tii Beach as part of the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

On the morning of Waitangi Day, men, women, boys and girls proudly paddled their waka off Te Tii Beach in one of the biggest waka processions in 25 years. Among them was a Whangarei cop and several people from the United States.

Ngatokimatawhaorua, a Ngapuhi waka taua (war canoe), was one of about 15 waka that were paddled on the waters this Waitangi Day as part of the 175th Anniversary celebrations.

Click on the image below for a video of the waka:

Last year, Ngatokimatawhaorua missed the fleet because of the rough weather; this year, it carried kaihoe (paddlers) of all different races, ages, shapes and sizes.

Whangarei policeman Joseph Reuben, 31, said he had been paddling for 25 years and felt privilegedto be in the waka of his tupuna.

"To know that my tupuna, Toki Pangeri, carved the smaller [Ngatokimatawhaorua], it just feels really special. Although it was the smaller waka, it's still the same you know," he said.

Mr Reuben said Waitangi Day was the perfect opportunity to bring Ngatokimatawhaorua out of its whare at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

"If it doesn't get brought out at least once a year, it just sits there in its korowai."

Also paddling in Ngatokimatawhaorua was Roji Oyama, of San Francisco, California, and he was one of several people who were from different places around the world at the waka spectacular.

Mr Oyama decided to come to New Zealand after meeting the people who sailed the waka, Te Mata a Maui, when they embarked on their Pacific voyage four years ago.

"We hosted them and offered them hot meals and beds and we became friends with them and they said 'oh you should come to Aotearoa' so I decided to come over."

Mr Oyama is not unfamiliar with paddling a waka, saying in California vaka ama is a big thing but he said being able to paddle Ngatokimatawhaorua as part of the 175th Waitangi Day celebrations was pretty special.

"Oh man, it just feels awesome. I've really enjoyed it."

Mr Reuben said there were also three students from Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts paddling.

"You know they come over and want to learn about Maori culture. This is not just for Maori it's for everybody," he said.