Karakia for flotilla of waka highlights Waitangi festivities

Karakia for a flotilla of 29 waka and their 2000 paddlers will be an epic spectacle for the 50,000 people  expected to attend the commemoration of the 170th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi at Waitangi next week.
The spiritual ceremony for the  fleet - the biggest assembled at Waitangi - will begin on Tii Beach in front of the Waitangi Marae about 9am on February 6.
The world's largest waka, the 30m Ngatokimatawhaorua built for the treaty centennial in 1940, will be in the fleet, which will be led by a restored 16m Ngapuhi waka of the same name. Until recently, it had not been in the water since it was launched at Waitangi in 1940.
A free concert at the Treaty Grounds at 6.30pm on February 5 will warm up the  treaty anniversary proceedings.
 Celtic folk group Sula will open the night, followed by Ray Woolf and the Rodger Fox Big Band.
The commemoration will officially  begin on the Treaty Grounds at 5am with the traditional dawn karakia at the Whare Runanga, also built for the 1940 centennial.
 This year, the ceremony has been moved outdoors to the lawns in front of the  meeting house, which has not been big enough to accommodate the crowds of about 1000 people who have turned up for the service in recent years.
Waitangi National Trust chief executive officer Jeanette Richardson asked for  attendees to respect the contemplative mood of the karakia.
Sports events and children's activities  begin at 10am on the trust's sports ground.
There will be an interdenominational Christian service at 10.30am and the Royal New Zealand Navy will give a 21-gun salute at noon. Variety entertainment will be presented on stage at Hobson's Beach from midday until 4pm, and at 5pm waka are expected to be housed in the whare at Hobson's Beach.
The traditional Beat Retreat ceremony by the Navy Guard of Honour and Band and the sunset ceremony, including the lowering of the flag in front of the Treaty House,  is at 5.30pm.
At 6.30pm, soul singer Whirimako Black will perform in a concert at Hobson's Beach.
All road traffic on to the Treaty Grounds will be stopped at 11am when the bridge will be used solely by pedestrians.
Cars will be diverted left at the Waitangi roundabout and onwards to a carpark at the corner of Puketona and Haruru Falls Rds, near Watea. From there, a continuous bus shuttle service will run to the Treaty Grounds via Haruru Falls Rd from 8.30am.
The last shuttle will leave the Treaty Grounds at 6pm to allow people to stay on for the Beat Retreat ceremony.
Those staying for the Whirimako Black concert are advised to fetch vehicles from Haruru Falls during the afternoon to avoid creating queues for the last few shuttles, and to bring them closer to the Treaty Grounds, which has become a popular venue for evening picnics.
The bridge will be opened to vehicles around 5pm when numbers on the Treaty Grounds have usually eased.
The Fullers ferry, running hourly from Paihia to Russell, will call into Waitangi until 5.30pm.