A traditional vaka leaves Tahiti today for New Zealand, as its crew retrace the pathways of their Pacific ancestors.
The Tahitian double-hulled canoe, Fa'afaite, is part of a flotilla recognising 250 years since the first encounters between Māori and Pākehā in New Zealand.
The initiative, dubbed Tuia 250, is also exploring the ancestral routes of Polynesian navigators and will stop in Cook Islands and the Kermadec Islands.
Mackenzie Smith spoke with a chair of Tuia 250's governing committee, Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, about the journey.
Vaka Moana on Hawaii, Auckland and Tahiti voyage, 2011. Photo: Okeanos Foundation / Rui Camilo
