Waka arrive at Ōhinepane campsite after their first day of paddling on the journey from Taumarunui to Whanganui. Photo / Moana Ellis
A Whanganui iwi leader says reserving stretches of the Whanganui River exclusively for the two-week tribal river journey has transformed the experience for participants.
Almost 40 years old, the annual Tira Hoe Waka was launched in the late 1980s. It is an iwi wānanga (learning and discussion space) for descendants of the river tribes paddling from Taumarunui to Whanganui.
Two years ago, iwi entity Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui activated a customary activities provision in the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 for the first time, setting aside sections of the river for the sole use of the Tira Hoe Waka.
It closes parts of the river to tourists, tour and jet boat operators and all other river users for up to three days at a time as paddlers travel down the river.
The restrictions include Department of Conservation (DoC) campsites, the Great Walks Whanganui Journey and Te Araroa Trail tourists.
Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui kaihautū/chief executive Nancy Tuaine said the customary activities provision had enabled the Tira Hoe Waka to make the journey without any other activities or users on the river, banks and campsites.
In the past, tourists would seek to interact with the Tira “when we’re actually in wānanga, giving to ourselves and giving back to our river”.
“As [river] traffic has increased, it’s impacted on us. In the past two years, we’ve experienced the ability for our kids to embrace their awa in totality without any tourist interaction or any impacts of that in terms of jet boats or canoeists coming and going.
“The biggest thing I’ve noticed is the peace. The only noise is ourselves, with ourselves. It’s made an immense difference to our ability to kōrero ki te awa [speak to the river] and spend time with the river.”
Nearly 160 paddlers and their road crews started out on the 14-day event from Ngā Huinga near Ngāpuwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on January 5, making their first camp at Ōhinepane.
They then travel to ancient river marae sites including Tāwata, Whitianga and Tieke, arriving at Te Ao Hou Marae in Whanganui on January 19.
For the first time, the Tira will also stay at the restored Te Pōti marae across the river from Pīpīriki township and will also have rare stays at Ātene Marae and Rākatō.
Organiser Hayden Potaka said about 20 waka with more than 100 paddlers were on the river this year. Only a handful launched from Taumarunui because low water levels made stretches of the first day’s paddling dangerously shallow for six-man Canadian canoes.
Variable river flows and changeable weather were expected.
“We are monitoring conditions daily and adjusting our pace and planning accordingly.
“Our approach is to move with the awa, guided by tikanga, experience and a strong safety-first mindset.”
The full Tira launched from Ōhinepane on Wednesday.
Marama Ellis paddled the river with her mother Anna Te Waimātao Rihia 35 years ago. She is completing her 11th Tira this year, paddling with her 19-year-old daughter Erena, supported by her tāne and 12-year-old son Daniel as “roadies”. Her sister, nephews and niece have also travelled the awa.
“It’s about reconnection, learning who we are, hearing the kōrero, trying to hold it in my head and in my heart.”
Hēni (Mateparae) Unwin is on her sixth Tira.
“First it was about reconnecting back to the river, to my people, and finding out about who I am as a person, and then I kept coming back because it’s just how I start my year and how I can really set my intentions for the year.”
Palmerston North Deputy Mayor and Māori ward councillor Debi Marshall-Lobb – a former principal of Hato Pāora College – is paddling with her daughter, two nieces and a mokopuna, with her tāne supporting as a roadie.
“It’s a privilege to be on the Tira. I think it is a stunning strategy that our tūpuna some 30 years ago had and fulfilled. If those who established it could be here, I think they’d marvel at how it’s exceeded their expectations.”
Marshall-Lobb said the initiative unites all the marae, hapū and descendants of the awa from its Tongariro source to the Tasman Sea.
“It’s something to be proud of. We learn about the history of the awa. We learn skills. We’re not just looking at the awa but we’re on the awa, in the awa, talking to the awa – all those beautiful things.
“They’ve managed to maintain something so special, that is truly Whanganui. But also if you were to look globally, it’s an ingenious strategy to maintain that indigeneity.”
Long-serving steerer Hone Turu said the awa was a living reminder of those who had gone before him, including his late father, John Wi, who travelled with crews of whānau and rangatahi from his hapū Te Ihingarangi.
“Every corner, every rapid, every kōrero that I give to the next generation, I think of Dad, I think of Uncle Paik [Paiki Johnson], I think of all the people that helped us to get those kōrero out there: Uncle Gerald Patea, some of our old fellas like Uncle Boy [Cribb] and Uncle Baldy [Haitana].
“It’s built me up to who I am today. If I didn’t have that, I’d probably be like every other haututū Māori in the world. It grounded me to where I am and who I am today. I feel the next generation should learn the same as my father and grandfather taught us – whakapapa and whaikōrero. That’s what the Tira’s all about.
“It’s one of those golden opportunities for our people, Whanganui people, to understand who they are and how they fit in the whole scheme of things.”
Potaka said the Tira Hoe Waka was only possible because of the immense support of hapū along the river, who prepare and host the Tira at each marae every year.
“Their manaakitanga, organisation and aroha are the backbone of this journey, and we are deeply grateful.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.