Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Santa trades his sleigh for a waka

By Peter de Graaf
Northern Advocate·
16 Dec, 2016 07:30 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

You know you're in Northland when Hana Koko (Santa) arrives by waka ama. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF

You know you're in Northland when Hana Koko (Santa) arrives by waka ama. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF

You know you're in Northland when Santa arrives by waka ama with a United Tribes flag flying proudly from the back of his canoe.

For the second year in a row Hana Koko (that's Santa Claus in te reo Maori) traded his sleigh and reindeer for a waka paddled by elves.

See full photo gallery here:

Image 1 of 18:

The big man - who had lost a lot of weight since last year and bore a striking resemblance to a local police officer - landed on the beach in front of Waitangi's Te Tii Marae, where kids were already queuing in anticipation by a seat decorated with Maori motifs.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Ho ho ho! Meri Kirihimete," he called, as he hitched up his trousers and waded to shore, then started the serious business of handing out gifts. Thanks to some elf overtime in the toy factory, every child was able to line up twice for a present.

Hana Koko's visit on Thursday evening was organised by members of the Waitangi Waka Ama Club, who also put on a beachfront barbecue.

One of the parents, Jan Roberts, said it was an "only in Waitangi" way of bringing people together.

"We're all paddling in the same waka," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hana Koko said he was keen to come back next Christmas because Waitangi made the Bay of Islands special. Explaining his choice of transport, he said: "Well, for a start we lost the reindeer, but coming to Waitangi by waka just seemed the right thing to do."

Meanwhile, police Youth Aid officer Rob Cameron, who helped get the club off the ground, said police had developed a close partnership with Waitangi through waka ama, but with that came a responsibility to help out when needed.

"A lot of people won't have the happy Christmas it should be. We've got people here who are struggling to get by and feed their children, who're paying really high rents. It's a real concern," he said.

Mr Cameron also teaches waka ama to the pupils of Paihia School, some of whom had never been on the water despite living right next to it. As well as getting exercise and a chance to experience the Bay the children learnt about the significance of waka and "where they come from and who they are".

Discover more

Santa ditches sleigh, arrives by waka instead

16 Dec 11:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

08 Jul 06:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

08 Jul 05:06 AM
Northern Advocate

Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

08 Jul 02:46 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

08 Jul 06:00 AM

'The consequences are with you for the rest of your life', a judge told Rameka Rewiti.

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

08 Jul 05:06 AM
Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

08 Jul 02:46 AM
Police arrest three, seize shotgun and rifles following dirt biker dispute

Police arrest three, seize shotgun and rifles following dirt biker dispute

08 Jul 12:09 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP