Waka on the river.

[Silk]

Coming to work today I saw some crowds and cameras on the river bank and bridge, so thought something might be up. I kept my eye on the river, but heard them before I saw them - 3 waka chanting makes a lot of noise. These are Waka Taua - war canoes. The Maori King going to the local marae....and making a bit of a political statement on water rights.

These were taken from the back door of our workshop, right on the riverbank. I live just about opposite on the otherside, and that's NZ's only coal fired powerstation.

This is how they made the return trip upriver....

 

[chubbs1]

Thanks for the great pics!

 

[john_pifer]

Ha ha, really cool that we have members in New Zealand!

As I read your story, I was imagining it in a Kiwi accent!

Thanks for posting up pictures. I would really like to see more pictures from your beautiful country!

 

[Astro14]

Those are so cool! I remember seeing one of them in the Bay of Islands (a memorial to the Treaty of Waitangi)...the wood (Kauri of course) was beautiful and the design was really fascinating...they're huge! If I recall correctly, they can be disassembled for transport...

 

[Silk]

It was only the 2nd time I've used the camera on my Galaxy Y - I'm sure there is a zoom function, but couldn't find it. So they are probably in 35mm lens format - they were a bit closer to me in real life.

I wouldn't want to have a been a British soldier in an isolated garrison on the Waikato River, and heard this lot coming down river - intimidation was very much a part of Maori warfare. Check out the Haka at an All Blacks game....starting out with an advantage.

 

[chiks]

An empty boat on the way back??

 

[chiks]

This is what I call a Waka. LOL

 

[Silk]

This is a real photographer's shot of the King's waka. This is his home town.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Way cool! Thanks for sharing!