I te Moana a Toi, kua whakarewahia tētahi kaupapa hōu hei kawe pāhihi ki runga waka hourua. Kei te utu rātau mō tāua haerenga mai i Tauranga Moana ki Waiaua, kia rongo ai rātau ki te manamanahau o ngā tikanga o ō tātau tīpuna e pā ana ki te whakatere waka i te moana.
Nei rā te waka ō te tangata whai rawa. Koinei te waka ō te tangata whai tikanga rerekē. I hangaia te waka hourua ō Hinemoana e tētahi tangata Tiamani, whakaterea ai ki wīwī ki wāwā.
Ka hokona e te Hawaiki Rising Voyaging Trust i Aotearoa nei hei kaupapa whakawhanake taiohi. Tokorima ngā kaumoana e manaaki ana i ngā pāhihi pakeke tekau, kua utu ki te haere i runga i te waka nei.
Hei tā Pat Mohi, “We've always wanted to expose as many of our people as we can to waka and the waka life including the kōrero of our ancestors, the traditional sciences we had from reading the stars to being aware of the wind conditions, sea patterns, cloud formations. All that kind of stuff, we believe, is empowering for our people to know.”
Mō te kotahi mano ono rau tāra ka whakawhiwhia e te tangata ngā whakamōhiotanga mō te urungi waka hourua. Ka kai, ka moe, ka mahi ā rātau mahi katoa i runga i te waka i a rātau e hoe ana mai i Tauranga Moana ki Hauraki.
Ko tā Juscinta Grace, “He kaupapa pai tēnei ki te ako i ngā momo mahi ō te waka hourua ki te ako i ngā mahi a ngā tīpuna i te wā i hoea mai ki Aotearoa. Koirā te whakaaro i tērā wā. Kei te āhua mataku ināianei.”
Hei tā Ariana Gillespie, “I'm nervous, I'm like oh my gosh, been thinking about it all week and like freaking myself out.”
Hei tā Mohi, “It's a challenge and once they work their way through it and managed to get themselves through the sail, they'll realise they've achieved something.”
Koinei te tuatahi ō ngā haerenga a Hinemoana. Ko te tumanako ka haere tonu tēnei
“Ideally waka should be for everybody, not just Māori but whoever wants to experience the culture positively,” tā Mohi.
