Positive marae vibe what day is all about

BEHIND THE SCENES: The men and women in the wharekai at Te Tii Marae who are busy preparing and cooking the food for the marae guests. PHOTO/MIKAELA COLLINS

Waitangi Day is sometimes portrayed in a negative light, but if you go behind the scenes, you'll see a very different side.

While politicians were welcomed on to Te Tii marae on Thursday, and protesters participated in a hikoi, in the wharekai there were men and women working hard to feed the multitude of guests.

Aquellah Faigamoa, 18, Jamie Davies, 27, and Susan Apiata, 28, have been helping out at the marae for as long as they can remember.

"She's been helping since she could walk," said Susan of Aquellah.

"Yeah, you were a screamy baby," laughed Jamie.

There is constant laughter and joking among these three and they said it's pretty common of those that put in the hard work out of the public eye.

"Always get a good laugh. I love seeing the family, love seeing everyone, love being here for a positive thing you know, not a tangi," said Aquellah.

The jobs the girls do aren't restricted to the wharekai, they're both cooks and cleaners.

"We clean the wharepaku, we cook the kai, we do the rubbish. We've had help from the army with food prep so they've been doing that," said Jamie.

It's hard work and the girls said they go to sleep at midnight and wake up at 5am for the next day's activities at the marae. "You get sore feet, really, really sore feet," said Aquellah.

Susan and Jamie said they couldn't think of a special guest they enjoyed cooking for and Aquellah said it was the Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae. But they all love cooking.

"Just love feeding the people and putting a smile on their faces," said Susan.

The women said the crowd favourite is the fried bread and the scrambled eggs.

"The frybread gets slaughtered and the scrambled eggs in the morning," said Susan.

"Yeah people can never get enough," laughed Jamie.

The girls said to experience the true nature of Waitangi Day you have to go there yourself.

"(The television coverage that focuses just on the politics and protest) it misportrays what actually happens here, that's only a small part. It's really about our marae," said Susan.