Source: Tai Tokerau Tarai Waka Incorporated
For the first time Te Hau Kōmaru National Waka Hourua Festival sets sail for Te Tai Tokerau in celebration of Māori and Pacific voyaging traditions. Waka communities across Aotearoa and Te Moana nui a Kiwa, alongside ākonga and the Northland community, will convene on Aurere, Taipā and Mangonui to take part in the upcoming festival.
From 22–29 November 2026, Te Tai Tokerau will welcome 9 large scale waka hourua onto its shores for Te Hekenga Mai | Te Hau Kōmaru 2026. Hosted by Tai Tokerau Tarai Waka Incorporated (Tarai Waka Inc), the festival celebrates the knowledge, skills and traditions of waka hourua — double-hulled Polynesian voyaging canoes — while creating opportunities for rangatahi to learn directly from experienced practitioners.
The festival is expected to bring together more than 2,000 people from the wider community, including 1,000+ ākonga from local kura, connecting them with the traditions of ocean voyaging in their own rohe.
Founded by Tā Hekenukumai Busby, Tarai Waka Inc has been working to protect, grow and transmit kaupapa waka since 1992. Festival Coordinator and Tarai Waka Inc Chairperson Joyce Munns Conrad (Muriwhenua) says that at the heart of Te Hekenga Mai is the responsibility to protect and pass the knowledge on.
“As many of the navigators and practitioners who revitalised waka hourua knowledge in Aotearoa grow older, the need to ensure their knowledge is carried forward by future generations has become increasingly important,” says Munns Conrad.
Te Hau Kōmaru and its national body forms part of a wider initiative focused on the revitalisation of waka hourua knowledge and practice in Aotearoa. Tarai Waka Inc Patron, Stan Conrad (Muriwhenua), says that alongside the festival, bringing the national and international waka communities to Te Tai Tokerau is a great honour to the memory of the person who revitalised this lost practice in Aotearoa.
“Te Hekenga Mai encompasses the rebuilding of kaupapa waka with the literal rebuild of Te Aurere. Marking a milestone for future voyaging here in Aotearoa, supporting the continuation of this kaupapa well beyond the November gathering,” says Conrad.
Further information about the festival programme, activities and registrations for local schools can be found on the website https://tehaukomaru.org/.