Parihaka Waka Ama Club crew returning from a paddle down the Hātea River to Kissing Point.
Waka ama has become an increasingly popular sport over the years, reporter Jodi Bryant decides to find out what it is all about.
The evolution of waka ama
Waka ama is the New Zealand term for outrigger canoeing. The name distinguishes an outrigger canoe from single-hull waka (canoes).
Most traditional Māori waka are single hull, carved from a tree trunk broad enough that the width of the waka is greater than the depth of the hull. The width of a waka ama hull is narrower than its depth, and requires an outrigger float to prevent capsizing. This is called an ama and is connected to the hull.
Waka ama have been used in the smaller islands of the Pacific for centuries for fishing, carrying goods, travel and racing but waka design and use went through a number of evolutionary stages. According to Maritime NZ, the different trees available here and their huge girth size meant that waka in this country eventually became single-hulled and did not need an outrigger float, or ama, to keep their hulls upright.
Gradually, over hundreds of years, waka ama went into decline in Aotearoa and had become rare in New Zealand by the time the first European explorers arrived.
But during the 20th century, Māori travelling to Pacific islands, such as Hawaii and Tahiti, observed the continuing tradition of waka ama racing and, in the mid-1980s, the revival of waka ama began here with canoe clubs subsequently springing up around the country.
Hosting the world championships in Aotearoa in 1990 rekindled the flame and, in recent years, it has grown in popularity as a recreational activity and sport. There are now 14 clubs in Northland with three in Whangārei.
Parihaka Waka Ama was established in 2007 and is now one of the largest and fastest growing waka ama clubs in Northland, respected at regional, national and international competitions.
The club operates from Kissing Point on Riverside Drive, Whangārei, and has a range of W6 (six-seater waka), W3, W2 and W1. There are currently 68 full members, comprising 22 male and 46 female, but this number will increase in October when Sprints season starts. Club members’ ages range from children to 70-plus.
The club hosts weekly social member meets every Wednesday at 5pm with additional Sunday paddles over winter.
There are also Whānau Days and Have a Go Days over summer. Members also compete at regional, national and international events with the Senior Master Women’s Team, along with paddlers in mixed crews from other clubs competing in the World Distance Championships in Samoa last month. Competing against 27 countries, New Zealand won the highest amount of medals: eight gold, 13 silver and three bronze.
For further information, go to: wakaama.co.nz
Note to self, keep your mouth closed! Jodi pops down to the local waka ama club to have a go
It’s a stunning winter’s Sunday morning and I’ve just arrived at Kissing Point where I am waiting at water’s edge with a group of strangers.
They spot a new face among them and welcome me to their fold. We need to connect because, within minutes we will be manoeuvring a narrow craft together as a team down the vast mass of the Hātea River under the Parihaka Waka Ama Club.
From the window, I’ve long watched these vessels glide past in the distance and imagined the feeling of being among the still of the morning while experiencing the camaraderie of teamwork. It’s taken all these years but here I am.
After being fitted with a lifejacket, suitable footwear for the slippery ramp and a paddle, I’m given a quick lesson before we carry the waka to the ramp where we say a karakia before boarding.
There’s eight of us today so we are taking out the six-seater and two-seater waka.
Each seat position comes with its own role; seat one sets the pace and the stroke to follow and helps turn the waka, seat two keeps the timing and communicates, providing feedback to seat one, seat three calls instructions, including changes in pace, seat four is the watcher who keeps an eye on conditions and puts in the power, seat five also puts in the power and helps the steerer when required to turn, and seat six steers the waka and makes safety and encouragement calls to the crew.
I am allocated to seat five, which is a relief as only the steerer behind me sees when I start with my paddle back-to-front.
I am confident on the water, though feeling a little nervous as, the night before, had been sent a YouTube tutorial to watch on capsizing. The thought of ending up in the cold, less-than-clear drink was almost a deterrent. It is rare, but, as part of club procedures one must know what to do. Just in case, I leave my phone and keys behind.
We set off and it doesn’t take long to pick up momentum. The key is to stay in sync with the person two seats in front – so number three for me. We dip the paddle and pull in unison on the same side before the leader calls “Hup” and, without missing a beat, all switch over to our respective sides.
Soon we are in the midst of the Hātea River where the wind has picked up and we dig in harder with our paddles. But I must say, I am smiling the entire time. It’s exhilarating being out there in the open and exercising muscles that have remained dormant for a long time, while seeing Whangārei from a different angle.
Not that there’s time to observe – I’m certainly not like Cleopatra reclining back taking in the surrounds. In fact, there is very little time to chat and look around as you run the risk of missing an instruction and letting the team down. It’s more a case of digging in, interspersed with friendly banter.
But I do chance the occasional glance around and wish I could take photos of what I am seeing. We have just gone under Te Matau A Pohe bridge – a first for me – and have entered the Hātea Loop area which is teeming with Sunday activity on this glorious day.
Normally on the loop walkway myself, it’s amazing to see the bustle from this perspective; we are surrounded by walkers, joggers, dog walkers, families, fellow waka ama crew, including one with only teenage girls having the time of their lives, kayakers, and, as we near the Town Basin, residential vessels … and then the scrumptious smells of brunch wafting from the cafes, to the sounds of happy chatter and clanging cutlery.
We go under the Canopy Bridge – another first – turn and drift for a while to rest and stretch (I find out the following day why everyone is stretching!). After a brief chat, we head back and, this time the bridge is raised with all the traffic queued at each end as we pass under - certainly a sight to behold.
Back out in the open, where the wind is up, several motorboats pass, though thankfully slowly, as we negotiate the wake. (I later learn that this was a particularly tough paddle!) After a friendly race with the two-seater waka adjacent us, we arrive back at the ramp (it’s been an hour’s round-trip) and I down the paddle in my lap and clap.
I will have sore abdominal and arm muscles tomorrow, not to mention an aching face as I have not stopped smiling, but it’s a real sense of achievement as a team. We disembark and high-five before saying another karakia. Everyone seems on a high and, just like that, we depart back to our normal Sunday lives - a happy and invigorating way to spend a Sunday morning.
# Footnote: I must have loved it as, a fortnight later, I find myself back at Kissing Point and, this time, risk taking my phone camera for a few hastily-taken photos. This involves calling: “Number five out”, downing paddle and feeling a tremendous amount of guilt while the rest of the team dig in harder with one man down – hence a few substandard photos.
# By the way, if you’ve never touched the murky waters of the Whangārei Hātea River, you certainly will through waka ama. It’s impossible not to with both embarking, disembarking and from the flicking up of water from the paddles. Plus, I even got my first (silty) taste of the water literally … note to self, keep your mouth closed!
Kura Heke, 70, explains why she lives and breathes waka ama.
What line of work do or did you do?
Teacher – I taught every division of school over 50 years and I retired this year to travel and follow my passion, which is waka ama.
When did you take up waka ama and why?
At the grand old age of 45, in 1998, my sister was in a team going off to paddle in Fiji at the Worlds and she sold me a raffle ticket to support her going and I actually won it. The prize was to go to Fiji and I went there and, of course, just fell in love with waka ama as it’s something that resonates.
I returned to the Hokianga, where I was teaching, and started a waka ama club and I felt that I could use it as a vehicle to help our kids who were disengaged with learning. We soon had the likes of local surfers and fishermen joining. The club is called Nga Kaitiaki Waka. I’ve always been athletic and, of course, if you put two waka together, you want to start racing so, being competitive, I then got into competitions.
How did you go in the recent World Long Distance Championships in Samoa?
I was very fortunate to win a bronze, it was a tough race and in 30-degree heat. There are divisions for every 10-year age bracket so there were 80-year-olds competing. I have every intention of still competing in my 80s!
What have been your greatest successes in the sport?
Apart from it being a vehicle that I use in my teaching career for kids to use as an inspiration to find out who they are, it’s teaching team-building - your life depends on your teammates when you’re out on the water. It’s also learning about the environment.
And personally, for my health and I can be a role model for my family. Waka ama promotes a no drinking and smoking policy where safety comes first.
The greatest achievement, and I say this every year, is the last race as it reflects all the work you’ve put in. I have competed at a very high level and it has been gold, but it’s not about the colour of your medal because you set goals, you train toward them and you need to have the mindset and determination to meet those goals. The last race for me is always the highlight.
It sounds like you’re responsible for many recruits to the sport?
Yeah, that’s our passion. We try to give the opportunity, not only for able-bodied people and children but also I see great satisfaction for para-paddlers wanting to come out on the water and paddle because on the water, there’s no barriers.
You’re renowned for ‘living and breathing’ waka ama, if you haven’t already, share why and how often you go out for a paddle:
Six out of seven days when you’re training and more than once a day. I’ve been living in Whangārei since 2013 and, prior to that, travelled from the Hokianga to Parihaka to join the team for my age group. I was the club chairperson until this year when I retired.
It’s in the blood and, for me, waka ama is not just a sport, it’s a way of life. Māori navigated through the Pacific Ocean to get to New Zealand on waka and it’s always been part of our history. Although it’s been upgraded and modernised to fiberglass, not wood, it is a fast-growing and very popular sport all over the world. For me, it’s a cultural taonga we love to share