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Along the southern edge of the Lower Waitaki River, a team of kaiaka taiao, or indigenous rangers, have been hard at work clearing scrub, establishing native plantings and monitoring an extensive network of traps. Whiria Te Waitaki is a restoration project led by Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, weaving together aspirations for the health of the catchment, and creating career opportunities for their whānau.
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The stars have aligned for Dark Sky Project, a bold new astro-tourism venture in Takapō. It’s the longstanding vision of the founders of Dark Sky Project’s predecessor Earth & Sky, Graeme Murray and Hide Ozawa, whose passion is to preserve and showcase the region’s famously dark skies. This purpose has new fulfilment through a joint venture with Ngāi Tahu Tourism.
The new building, named Rehua, boasts a multi-media indoor astronomy experience that combines science and tātai aroraki (Māori astronomy). A mana whenua working party ensured they were able to contribute to the project in a way that celebrated their time-honoured connection to Te Manahuna (the Mackenzie Basin).
A visit by whānau members of famed mountaineer Tenzing Norgay to the Ngāi Tahu rohe has been a meeting of minds and hearts, with strong similarities between our cultures, and shared experiences in the not so fine balance between conservation with tourism.
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Kā Huru Manu is the highly-anticipated result of the Ngāi Tahu Cultural Mapping Project – a digital atlas that holds over 1000 traditional Māori place names in Te Waipounamu, and their associated histories.
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It is a haerenga to bring Moeraki stories to life, and to ensure that those on the Moeraki paepae know what they are talking about. Sometimes the haerenga, which happens every few years, from the mountains to the sea. This time, the Moeraki rōpū is travelling from the coast to the mountains. Along the way they hear the whakapapa of the Waitaki Valley, and the importance of the Waitaki awa to Moeraki. They pass through the landscape as the kōrero comes to life. It is much more powerful this way, experiencing the kōrero among the majesty and power of the whenua, rather than listening to the stories at a wānanga.
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“Making the connection” – this carefully formulated phrase signifies a shift in focus for Ngāi Tahu Tourism as they redefine their purpose to embrace the relationship between kaimahi, manuhiri, and iwi. This change of perspective, although in its early stages, has already resulted in Ngāi Tahu Tourism winning the He Kai Kei Aku Ringa award for Māori Excellence in Export at the New Zealand International Business Awards, awarded by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
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The wānanga represent a revitalisation of their own, as they emulate the renowned wharekura Ōmanawharetapu that Matiaha Tiramōrehu held in Moeraki until 1868. Tiramōrehu, widely known as the father of the Ngāi Tahu Claim, was also a renowned scholar with extensive knowledge of Māori traditions and whakapapa. He sought to share this with others, and in his wharekura taught Ngāi Tahu tamariki the traditional knowledge and customs that had been handed down for generations.
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Over the past four years, the Department of Conservation has had $54 million slashed from its budget. What will these cuts mean for Te Waipounamu and Ngāi Tahu? It was a small farewell at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff, late last year – an end to a relationship that had spanned several decades.
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