Hi Rachel

Sorry i havent been in contact with you. I am glad you posted this or else I would probably have never found you again. Please feel free to email me so we can get in contact again.

Look forward to hearing back from you

Hone

3 Days 2 nights- Maori Waka Tour in the Bay of Islands

We departed on a misty shrouded morning aboard a Maori Waka from Opito Bay in the Bay of Islands. We had on board food supplies, tent, fishing rods, diving gears and everything else needed to stay out for 2-3 nights camping on islands and visiting sacred Maori places and a Marae deep in the Bay of Islands. The sea was perfect and flat and although over cast and cloudy for 2 of the 3 days we had no rain and the weather was warm and humid.

The Waka travelled about 2 hours and we were on a secluded beach on an Island somewhere in the Bay.

We set up camp and went and did some fishing. Our Maori chief in charge Hone Mihaka and his grandson taught us how to set up a fishing line (the Maori way) guaranteed to catch fish. 2 hours later we were had hot barbecued fresh fish in a plate and enjoying a beautiful dinner.

Later on the evening we sat around the fire while Hone shared stories and history about the Bay of Islands which spoke of a people who have been living in Aotearoa for thousands of years. He shared part of his genealogy with us which when I stopped counting had passed the 34th generation sometime back.

He spoke in a way that had us all (6 on this 3 day tour) captivated and if he hadn't stopped and told us to go to bed around 1.00am in the morning we could have easily listened all night.

At times he seemed to be speaking to his ancestors and every now and then he would start to chant and sing in a way that was eerie and yet magical and spiritually charged.

He fired a flame in some of us which had us deep in thought through out the whole 3 day encounter.

He spoke of a time past and yet it seemed at time that was also talking of things yet to happen.

Day 2

We rose early to hear Hone and his grandson down near the sea, We wondered what they were doing, I could tell that they were conducting a ceremony of sorts, Hone's grandson seemed to be praying or rather chanting and singing like the birds that were singing in the trees all around our campsite. I recorded the sounds and it seemed that Hone and his grandson were in perfect harmony with the surrounding environment. After about 30 minutes or so Hone and his grandson then knelt by the waters edge and took some water and seemed to be offering it to the sky. I wanted to go and see what they were doing as did the lady with me however we knew that this was something that we had stumbled upon and not some sort of tourist show thing. It was magical, later after breakfast when I asked Hone what they were doing he just said, nothing much, we were just doing what everyone else was doing (the birds, fish, insects etc....) catching the first rays of sunlight as they come over the Horizon. It was then that I understood the depth of this man and his family. I began to understand that I was a witnessing events of Maori that until now I had thought was something that the Maori's used to do. Not at all I was witnessing it for real. WOW! and Wow!

After breakfast we put all our gear onto the waka again and we set out to explore another part of the Bay of Islands. We paddled the Waka until we were tired and then Hone started his small out board motor and we just sat back and relaxed while he pointed and sometime stopped at areas and Islands and talked of his ancestors and the places they lived before the European came.

He showed us some beautiful bays where there were once bustling Maori communities and now they are full of European homes that belong to some very wealthy migrants. The Maori families are now living in towns and cities trying to scrape a living in a modern world.

We stooped in an area of ocean around 2 kilometres off shore and suddenly Hone was over the side of the with no goggles or flippers. He seemed to be down forever and when he appeared he had a big fish in his hands. When we asked him how he caught he just said it was a fluke, The fish was asleep and didn't see him coming.

At another place he put on the goggles and snorkel and dived down several times. On about the third time he came up with a lobster, He threw it in the front of the Waka, climbed back aboard and then looked to the sea and spoke in a chant for a few seconds afterwards he turned and smiled at us and said " dinner tonight"

We then went further along the coast and stopped at a place where he said his father brought him to the day that he passed away. His father said to him on that day that this was a good place for fishing so we started fishing. His grandson suddenly had a very big fish on his line. Hone asked him to give the rod however Bayley carried on struggling to wind the fish in.

Hone kept asking Bayley to pass him the rod until finally Bayley said something to him in Maori which made Hone go silent and sit and watch as his grandson spent the next 15 minutes fighting the fish which he did get to the Waka.

It was a Kingfish and it was his first too. Later that evening when I asked Hone what bayley had said to him during that epic struggle of man and fish Hone said his grandson said that "Tangaroa (the god of the sea) would have given Papa the fish if he wanted Papa to have it"

I cannot explain in writing how special this Journey was for those of us who were on the tour. One has to be there to sense the magic, the power of this gentleman, his family, his people and his connection to the environment. This man is completely at home in culture and and environment. He made us feel like we actually belonged to something greater than ourselves. This is the best experience I have had in my life and I return to to my own country knowing more about myself than I ever did before my encounter with Hone Mihaka and the people we met who come from a Maori tribe called Ngapuhi.

Patricia Lee

Houston

USA

Customer feedback

And Another One!

We enjoy creating experiences for clients. Not special soap in a qualmarked lodge. We're talking experiences.

Up north we have been working for years with Hone Mihaka of Taiamai. www.taiamaitours.co.nz

Hone shares a passion for the authentic and also delights in creating. We had some clients earlier this month who were the owners of a top outbound US agency dealing in South Africa. They knew travel and had briefed my that they liked surprises. (rub hands with glee) Hone and I got together on the phone and put together something which blew them away.

We selected an area far from tourists. I briefed my clients on Maori protocol and led them down a shaded path into a large piece of native bush. Suddenly in the distance we heard a horn. We approached slowly. A warrior appeared.

In the distance behind him, illuminated by a shaft of light we could see two ladies and a child. There was a hiss from the bush to our right. I told our clients to keep looking ahead. Don't be distracted.

You can guess the rest - a wonderful welcome, fierce visages in the bush, a great display of warrior prowess, meaningful songs (waiata). And they had done this all for us at 9am on a Sunday, Anzac Day, a very special day for warriors. After a talk with the warriors we dropped into a couple of historic sites - one where Maori invented trench warfare and another where they bathed their wounds after the battle. Then lunch at the chief's home. A traditional lunch of course.

We didn't see any tourists, any visitor centres, any i-sites, any brochures, any marketing strategies. We saw Maori warriors on Anzac Day.

Thank you Hone.
Ahipara Luxury Travel

From: Luana Abbott [mailto:luana@newzealand.com.au]
Sent: Friday, 1 June 2007 5:07 p.m.
To: Waka Taia-mai Heritage Journeys
Subject: RE: Thank you from Waka Taiamai Heritage Journeys

Kia ora Hone, Judy & Tani

I arrived home on Wednesday evening after a very busy yet enjoyable 12 days in New Zealand, the highlight of my trip being my evening Cultural Encounter with you (Waka Tai-a-mai Tours).
You gave me the most authentic & passionate Maori encounter i have ever experienced and would like to thankyou so very much for sharing your culture, your home & your family with me. It was truly memorable.
I look forward very much to hopefully meeting with you all again in the future, hopefully with my family as well next time. In the meantime i hope to be able to promote your tours successfully and look forward to doing so.

Take Care, Luana

Luana Abbott
NZ PRODUCT CO-ORDINATOR
GO NEW ZEALAND
172 CAMPBELL ST
BELMONT WA 6104
PH 618 9479 4200
FAX 618 9478 3422
luana@newzealand.com.au

Maori Village in Northlands Bay of Islands??

We have heard rumors that WAKA TAIAMAI HERITAGE JOURNEYS are building a traditional Maori village? on the banks of the Waitangi river. I wonder if I as a visitor will be allowed to visit this Maori village when I get to Paihia, Waitangi, or Northlands, Bay of Islands.

Of course you can however there will be only one way you will be able to visit or view this village and that will be aboard a traditional 50ft Maori canoe with Waka Taiamai Heritage Journeys.

The Journey starts from the Waitangi boat ramp and wharf, With 1 or even 2 traditional Maori Waka(canoes) each carrying a maximum of 22 people and after some training in the use of a hoe (paddle) the waka slip out into the flat and calm waters of the famous Waitangi river which is the same name that is used for the Treaty of Waitangi.

Waitangi (weeping waters) is a name that was given to the waters of the area when a great Maori chief called Hua Takaroa came in search of the legendary and beautiful Maori maiden called Maikuku. As he approached the place now known as Waitangi he could hear weeping and wailing ....... wait a minute, thats one of the many stories told during the Canoe Journey and to hear the rest you need to join our tour.

As the Waka makes its way up the river and estuaries one might catch momentary glimpses of the fish life or see the wild bird life diving and fishing for dinner. So 10 minutes into your paddling everyone starts getting tired? that's OK we just start up our little outboard motor and you can sit back and relax and just take in the magical beauty of the river with native flora and fauna coming right to the rivers edge all the while you can hear the warriors chanting and telling stories about a people that until now you thought were only in myths and legends.

.............................time Lapse...................

With mist on the river surface and the banks covered in native bush and jungle in the distance on the rivers edge you can see a small smoke plume rising out of the forest, aha! a sign of human habitation.

As your waka glides closer you can see what appears to be a huge carved gateway on the rivers edge. You also notice the 15 - 20 ft stakes driven in the ground all standing in a fence like manner. you can tell it is a Maori compound of sorts. There are other canoes and water craft pulled up on the banks. Straining your eyes you can make out figures or rather people behind the pallisades that line the river. You suddenly realize that this is the Maori village that you heard about, WOW! like a mystical figure from an epic movie you suddenly see a Maori warrior child on the rivers edge.

A Maori woman with long flowing hair also comes to the waters edge and starts waving, and calling (traditional Karanga) to the waka, you wonder if the Waka might stop, you want the waka to stop.

...............time lapse............

With scenery similar to what you have seen only in movies, almost amazon like the waka gently glides around another bend in the river where there are native trees right to the waters edge, you feel like you are in another world and if that isn't enough all of a sudden the river opens up into a huge pool like basin with towering cliffs and native trees. You can hear rumbling and some 100 meters away on the opposite end of the pool you can see water thundering down the cliff face. These are the Haruru (rumbling)waterfalls. This is the halfway point of your Journey. The waka slowly and gently glides right to the foot of the falls, Here you take exclusive photo opportunities and yes that could be you in the picture above.

The chief of our waka tells us that it was here that the first European road was ever constructed in New Zealand.

In those early days there was a Maori village on the cliff tops and the European trading boats would all berth along the bottom of the cliff face. After some bartering and trading, then paying for their goods which they had purchased from the local Maori, the goods were then lowered down the side of the cliffs on ropes made from the local native plant called Korari.

.............Time lapse .................................

We arrive back at the wharf - landing. What a Journey, What an experience. Words cannot express the feelings and you have got photo's to prove how magical it was. You avoided the hustle and bustle of 100's of other tourist and spent the last 2-3 hours with a special group of men, women and children. You now understand more about the dynamics of the environment and landscapes, of the Bay of Islands, you also understand the real challenges and impact that colonization has had on these people called Maori.

After the farewell speeches and the final pressing of the nose (hongi) with the Waka men you make your way back to your accommodation.

Tv, internet, cars, telephones, although you need and appreciate these things one thing you will never ever forget is the last couple of hours you just spent with Maori in a little place called Haruru in Northland, New Zealand.