Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti Waka Voyage Successfully Navigates Past Niue En Route to Samoa

Waka Hourua Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti Passes Niue

The traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe, Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti, has successfully navigated past Niue, marking a significant waypoint on its celestial navigation journey from Aotearoa (New Zealand) to Samoa. This expedition, known as Te Hekenga ki Tua, is a testament to the revival of ancient Polynesian wayfinding techniques, relying solely on natural cues for guidance.

The Voyage: Te Hekenga ki Tua

The current voyage commenced from Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) with a crew of nine, including a captain, a quartermaster, and seven student navigators from Te Kura Waka. The journey's primary objective is to retrace the ancestral pathways of Māori and Polynesian voyagers, utilizing traditional non-instrument celestial navigation. Lead navigator Toiora Hawira guides the crew by interpreting signs from the natural world, such as stars, ocean swells, cloud formations, and bird movements. While the navigation is strictly traditional for the student voyagers, the waka's kaihautū (captain), Kiharoa Nuku, carries modern technology like GPS and Starlink for monitoring progress and ensuring safety, without interfering with the navigators' traditional methods unless absolutely necessary.

The expedition is expected to last between two and four weeks, following a decade of intensive preparation and training for the voyagers. Prior to reaching Niue, the Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti passed Rangitāhuahua (the Kermadec Islands), approximately 500 nautical miles from Aotearoa, before continuing its 700-nautical-mile leg to Niue.

Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti: A Legacy Vessel

The Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti is a waka hourua commissioned in 2000 by the late master waka builder Sir Hekenukumai Puhipi (Sir Hector Busby), named after his late wife. Constructed from two kauri trees lashed together, the vessel is 15.8 meters long, weighs nine tonnes, and can accommodate up to 12 people. It serves as a vital training platform for a new generation of Māori navigators, with master navigator Jack Thatcher acting as its kaitiaki (guardian) alongside his voyaging society, Kura Waka, based in Tauranga Moana.

The waka has a storied history, notably participating in the Waka Tapu voyage in 2012-2013, which saw it sail 10,000 nautical miles return to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) from Auckland. This historic expedition, undertaken with its sister waka Te Aurere, aimed to 'close the Polynesian Triangle' and was navigated without modern instruments, relying on the sun, stars, moon, currents, and marine life.

Cultural Revival and Future Generations

The ongoing journey of the Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti underscores a profound cultural revival, reconnecting contemporary Māori with their ancestral seafaring heritage. These voyages are crucial for preserving and transmitting traditional navigation knowledge, engineering, astronomy, and other sciences to younger generations. By undertaking such challenging expeditions, the crew not only honors the legacy of their tīpuna (ancestors) but also inspires a renewed appreciation for indigenous knowledge and the deep connection between people and the Pacific Ocean.