Gisborne, or Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, is buzzing as it prepares for the arrival of 10,000 people this weekend to mark the anniversary of the first on-shore encounters between Maori and Captain James Cook's European voyagers.
Tuia 250 ki Turanga starts on Saturday with the Pacific flotilla arriving at Waikanae beach, and the lead up to the anniversary hasn't been without controversy.
There will be a mass pohiri to welcome the Pacific waka, with the Prime Minister taking part.
But the European tall ships arriving next week will have no such welcome.
RNZ's Māori news director Māni Dunlop is in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and joins us with the details.
