About 10 waka are expected to take part in this year's Waitangi Day waka display at the beach opposite Te Tii Marae. PHOTO / JOHN STONE
About 10 waka are expected to take part in this year's Waitangi Day waka display at the beach opposite Te Tii Marae. PHOTO / JOHN STONE
Waka paddlers from around the North Island and as far away as the Netherlands are gearing up for one of Northland's great spectacles - the annual Waitangi Day waka display.
Nga Waka Tai Tokerau chairman Robert Gabel, of Kawakawa, said about 10 waka were expected to join the fleet whichwould leave Haruru Falls in the morning of February 6 and land at the beach in front of Te Tii Marae for karakia and mass haka about 9.30am.
Depending on conditions on the day the fleet would then head to Paihia.
Waka from Tainui, Whakatane and Te Arawa would join Northland waka including the 80-man Ngatokimatawhaorua. Mr Gabel also expected up to three waka hourua (double-hulled voyaging canoes) at this year's festivities.
The paddlers, who were expected to number more than 400, would take part in a training camp starting on February 2 at Bledisloe Domain, Haruru Falls.
Kaihoe (rowers) from Aotearoa would be joined by First Nations paddlers from the US and Canada, plus a group representing the Njord Royal Student Rowing Club from Leiden in the Netherlands.
The Dutch paddlers are the caretakers of Te Hono ki Aotearoa, the only waka taua (ceremonial canoe) permanently based in Europe.
