Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui River tribes axe annual tribal pilgrimage because of Covid threat

By Moana Ellis
Moana is a Local Democracy Reporter based in Whanganui·Whanganui Chronicle·
24 Dec, 2021 12:45 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Tira Hoe Waka executive committee chair Hayden Potaka says the annual tribal pilgrimage down the Whanganui River has been cancelled for only the second time in its history. Photo/Moana Ellis

Tira Hoe Waka executive committee chair Hayden Potaka says the annual tribal pilgrimage down the Whanganui River has been cancelled for only the second time in its history. Photo/Moana Ellis

LDR_STRAP

The tribal river wānanga the Tira Hoe Waka has been cancelled for only the second time in more than 30 years.

The two-week journey down the Whanganui River for the River tribes has been happening every year since 1988, but has been axed for the second year running because of the threat of Covid-19.

Tira Hoe Waka executive committee chair Hayden Potaka said with up to 400 people typically involved in the annual event, the committee could not risk the Tira becoming a super-spreader event.

"The main reason for this decision is the preservation of life. Delta was significant and the numbers were high. And even with the traffic light system we were still unsure if we could remain safe on the awa during that period."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Potaka said on average the Tira has 120-140 paddlers on the water each year.

"And then we've got extended whānau that would be supporting from the marae and as roadies, and also those of the hau kāinga on our marae, the ahi kā – between 300 and 400 people in total, so we cannot take the risk of having the virus exploding within our rohe.

"We will remain cautious for the foreseeable future."

Potaka said the decision does not mean smaller groups cannot organise to paddle parts of the river, as they did in January this year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Upholding our connection to the awa and to one another can be achieved via smaller-scale events in the various reaches of the awa," he said.

The Tira Hoe Waka is a mainstay of the Whanganui River tribal calendar. It is usually held every January over 15 days, with a flotilla of canoes and kayaks travelling the country's longest navigable river and visiting ancient marae sites and wāhi tapu along the way, from Taumarunui to Whanganui city.

Planning will begin in the new year to enable the Tira Hoe Waka to go ahead in 2023.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui turn to veterans for South Canterbury clash

Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Tane Māori impress

Whanganui Chronicle

'Long overdue': Vintage vehicle owners welcome WoF rule change


Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui turn to veterans for South Canterbury clash
Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui turn to veterans for South Canterbury clash

Whanganui have not beaten the Cantabrians since 2018.

04 Sep 06:00 PM
Whanganui Tane Māori impress
Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Tane Māori impress

04 Sep 05:00 PM
'Long overdue': Vintage vehicle owners welcome WoF rule change
Whanganui Chronicle

'Long overdue': Vintage vehicle owners welcome WoF rule change

04 Sep 05:00 PM


NZ’s convenience icon turns 35
Sponsored

NZ’s convenience icon turns 35

02 Sep 09:23 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP