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Ko Tangaroa te atua o te
moana Te Aurere was
the first traditional waka hourua (double hulled voyaging canoe) built by
Hekenukumai Busby. Her maiden voyage was to Rarotonga in 1992. Since then it
has sailed over the Pacific to Hawai'i, Tahiti, Marquesas, New Caledonia and
Norfolk Is. Te Aurere has also circumnavigated Te Ika o Maui (the North
Island of New Zealand) a number of times. It carries up to 14 crew and is
made of two kauri trees from the Herekino State Forest. The waka is 57
foot long and 18 foot wide with carved prow and stern. It has two masts and
can also rig a jib. All joints of the waka are lashed together using
traditional Polynesian methods. It is capable of making up to twelve knots in
a good wind. Navigation on
voyages is by the traditional way of using the stars, moon, sun, wind, wave
patterns and birds. Western navigation instruments are not used, however
modern safety equipment is carried on board for a worst case scenario. A GPS
tracker is also set up on board so progress of voyages can be seen via our
web page. The
organisation behind Te Aurere and its cultural and educational programs is Te
Tai Tokerau Tarai Waka Inc (Tarai Waka). Tarai Waka was formed in the late
1980s to build the waka taua Mataatua Puhi. As part of its program to develop
kaupapa waka Tarai Waka provides practical training in waka construction,
sailing and traditional navigation. This site is best viewed in Internet Explorer 7 or Mozilla Firefox
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