When his sea father, Tangaroa, gives Kai and Ira a task they answer his call to the voyage. What follows next is a tale of companionship, self-reflection and realisation.
“There’s a lot of Māori history about the relationship with whales. This book explores their bond — which is tested at all times — and how Kai, being an exceptional navigator, has lessons to learn from an older and experienced Ira.
“There’s also a lot of environmental messages about the role of whales in the ocean and in essence I have cast them as the shepherds of the ocean.”
As an author, Regina says she loves writing about tales that connect to the whenua.
“I was born on the East Coast, but left Aotearoa to travel the world and lived overseas for 29 years before returning to New Zealand in 2014. I didn’t grow up speaking Māori, but I did spend time with my father.
“I was also lucky enough to live with my grandmother for three years in Gisborne and also spend some time with my aunties and I realised how much knowledge I’d absorbed as a child.
“All those lessons about beaches and the ocean are what I tried to weave into the story. That has been a really enjoyable experience.”
Regina explains her inspiration to create the book — especially the Voyager series was born out of the idea to introduce her home to the rest of the world.
“When I was overseas in places such as Europe and Australia, people constantly asked me where I came from. It was an ongoing question which I answered by starting to write the series.
“We as Māori have a rich history especially when it comes to navigation. So I thought ‘why not take the waka forward’.”
For Taranga, her book Not Just a Teacher is like a love letter to educators from all professions in the form of poetry.
Each page dedicates a poem to a working professional whether it be the hard-working gardener, a navigator, a politician, and even a pirate.
Her poems are often simplistic, humorous, and a token of appreciation for all professionals who are in a way educators or teachers in their own regard.
Taranga says poetry in some manner makes things more accessible.
“For people who do not have enough time to read a novel, they might feel easier to read a couple of pages of poetry. Besides poetry is more my thing anyway — my first love.”
Her tryst with poetry, she says, started when she began reading poems written by Māori and Native American poets when she was a teenager.
“It just spoke to me, and over time I developed a love for it.”
Besides donning the hat of a poet, Taranga is also well known to the community as a teacher with over 20 years of experience — the last school she taught at was Kaiti.
She started her teaching career in Auckland. However, teaching was the last thing she ever thought she would do after finishing school to work in an office.
“It was during one of my child’s Christmas parties that one of the parents encouraged me to go for a teaching job. Initially I ignored the suggestion, but did end up applying and it has never been the same since.”
As part of a writer’s hub, she thanks Regina for giving her the support and encouragement she needed to “write my words”.
Regina said: “One of my inherent messages, whenever I go out and talk to people, is to encourage them to tell
their own stories. Because everyone has their own historical perspective and unique tale to tell whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. It’s your story and you should feel proud of expressing it
in your own words.”
