An annual festival celebrating waka hourua, or Māori double-hulled canoes, has kicked off in Waikato's Kāwhia Harbour today.
It's the second year of Te Hau Kōmaru, a week-long event giving waka experts the opportunity to pass on their knowledge to students.
There are hopes the festival will bring the tradition into a new age, with rangatahi picking up the skills that have been passed on through the generations from their ancestors.
Waka hourua carried the very first Māori settlers to Aotearoa. Hundreds of years later, Stan Conrad, captain of Te Aurere, led a 1992 revival that saw the waka make the 24-day voyage to Rarotonga.
Conrad says it's crucial to maintain the knowledge to keep the practice alive.
"If we didn't stick to it and keep up the mātauranga - the knowledge - and doing a lot of the sailing, the voyaging, it could have been lost."
Hoturoa Kerr, captain of Haunui, says sailing a waka is "like stepping into a time machine".
"It's just a real good connection to all the stories of our ancestors," he said.
Young trainees say they're excited to learn about waka hourua, which often takes a backseat to the better-known practices of kapa haka and mauraku.
"Stuff like this is important because waka hasn't really been a big thing to a lot of Māori, its been in the background," says Tamati Whitaker.
Te Hau Kōmaru will run until Sunday October 23.
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