Uto Ni Yalo - Update 7
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From Colin Philp onboard Uto Ni Yalo
Auckland New Zealand

Yesterday all crews from the four vakas attended an introductory
workshop on star navigation taken by Ian Karika, the navigator on
Marumaru Atua, the Cook Islands vaka. After the classrom session, the
Fijian contingent had to quickly race back to Mangere to receive the
Auckland Fijian community. The Fijian Naitasiri community were
officially on kitchen duty and did not disappoint. We had a crowd of
at least a hundred people scattered in the meeting hall sharing
stories and enjoying each other’s company while four strategically
stationed tanoas’ accommodated the free flow of kava.

Apart from the Naitasiri community, some Fijian va'a (outrigger)
paddlers also visited bringing food and 'chaser' for the kava
ceremony. Among them were Mere Naikatini and Greg Trail. Greg works
for Maori Television here and we discussed the possibility of the
documentary being made by Mai TV being shown on Maori Television.

Later in the evening we were pleasantly surprised to be visited by
Taholo Kami of IUCN and Eleni Tokaduadua of the Department of
Environment in Fiji. Manoa Rasigatale introduced the crew and
explained the reason for our voyage. Following which Taholo explained
more about the environmental issues that the Uto ni Yalo crew will
represent on our voyage.

This voyage is not only about re-establishing our cultural links in
the Pacific and reviving traditional Fijian canoe sailing and
navigation skills, it is also about promoting the vision of a healthy
and bountiful Pacific Ocean that will sustain the livelihoods and
cultures of the Pacific nations. With the attention we are receiving
on our voyage around the Pacific, it is an opportune time to highlight
this very important issue that affects all of us in the islands.

It’s confirmed that the four vakas are now tentatively set to sail
this Friday. There is an urgency in the air as the crew attend to the
necessary preparations before we embark on what will be the longest
leg of our journey. All things considered, the flotilla of four vakas
will take three weeks to a month to get to Tahiti. We’ve been told
that an experienced navigator from Tahiti will be joining one of the
Vakas to sail to Tahiti. This means that we will have a sharing of
knowledge where we all can learn to navigate by the stars. This is very
exciting new territory for the Uto Ni Yalo crew and one we embrace
with both hands. The weather forecast for Friday holds promise of
Westerly winds although very light for the first few days as we travel
almost due east.

Our cook, Rupeni Seasea is busy sorting out our food rations for the
trip. Iwi Ngati Kahungunu has kindly donated some supplies from
Watties for all the vakas. This means that we will have Pacific corned beef,
cream rice, tomato soup and other tinned goodies added to our menu. Vinaka
Ngati Kahungunu!

While Rupeni works on the food, I have been visiting marine shops
buying spares for the canoe and also stocking up on fishing gear as we
lost a lot of lures on the voyage to Auckland. We will be relying a
lot more on catching lots of fish as the next voyage is twice as long
as the voyage from Fiji. I think we have learnt that the secret to
catching fish on a fast moving canoe is small lures and heavy lines.

Today, Aotearoa organized a touching farewell for the crew of the four
vakas at the Te Taua Moana  - translated Sea or Ocean Warrior - marae,
located a mile or two from Baywaters marina.

Speakers from each of the Voyaging Society spoke in their mother
tongue to seek the blessing of the ancestors and god for a safe
journey east. It is customary that the speakers must speak in either
Maori or their mother tongue. Later at the end of the ceremony, people
were invited to speak in English.

During a break, the Fijian crew combined with the Samoan crew for a
friendly game of touch rugby. It was nice to bring up a sweat to
remove some of the kava still flowing through our veins from a heavy
night before.

There is a growing camaraderie that is being forged amongst the
various island parties. Everything is slowly shaping up
for an incredible voyage of the four vakas. Today's New Zealand Herald
has great coverage of the canoes and featured prominently is the Uto
ni Yalo in full colour.

Tonight we plan to paint the sails of our beloved canoe at our
temporary marae accommodation even though we know we will have many
more visitors. Our volunteer driver, Harold is off doing errands with
Sailasa Tora helping him. Sailasa has been acting as our mata ni vanua
while we are in Auckland.

We are praying our visitors bring more food with them tonight as we
stock the canoe for the remainder of the voyage back to Fiji. As food
in Tahiti is quite expensive, we need to stock up on as much canned
food as possible.

The crew are growing more and more anxious to leave Auckland and get
on with the voyage. Although they have enjoyed their time in Aotearoa,
we all realise we have a long way to go and the sooner we get started
the better. Also it will be a welcome break from the heavy duty kava
sessions we have been having each evening. The rumours about how much
kava the Fijians in New Zealand drink is all true. These guys are hard
core kava drinkers and we are light weights in comparison!

For more information and photos, visit www.fijivoyaging.com and leave us a
message. We have been very grateful for all the messages of support so far!

Vinaka

Colin/Carson
 

uto ni yalo crew in auckland