The majestic waka hourua Hinemoana is returning to the South Island to promote Māori and Pacific languages, build leadership, and foster resilience in young people through the ancient art of wayfinding.
Led by Trust Flying Geese, in partnership with Te Toki Voyaging Trust and mana whenua, Hinemoana continues to serve as a bridge between past and future.
Trust Flying Geese trustee and ocean voyager Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’i said Hinemoana reconnects students, educators, and corporate leaders with the wisdom of Pacific ancestors.
The two-month visit, starting in May, builds on previous voyages and programmes that saw Hinemoana sail as far south as Stewart Island in winter last year.
Te Toki kaihautū Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr said the trust is committed to ensuring the traditional knowledge and practices of ocean navigation remain alive.
“To do this, we must share waka hourua skills with communities all across Aotearoa,” Barclay-Kerr said. “It’s not just about voyaging, it’s about creating a community that knows how to care for and maintain a waka hourua.”
The Wayfinding for Life programme, based in Lyttelton, integrates traditional wayfinding with mental resilience and suicide prevention strategies. The programme has already been oversubscribed for 2025.
Initially funded for 300 students, it has registered 380 students from 11 Canterbury schools, with a growing waitlist.
“Wayfinding teaches rangatahi how to navigate through life’s challenges, just as our tūpuna navigated and voyaged across the vast Pacific,” Tafuna’i said. “It’s about mental strength, leadership, and belonging.”
A key focus of Hinemoana’s mission is the development of new Māori and Pacific language resources inspired by life on the waka. Crew sailing from Porirua to Ōtautahi will write and create stories, songs, poetry, and illustrations to capture and preserve the unique language of voyaging.
“Our waka holds language, stories, and knowledge that we must ensure are passed down, not lost,” Tafuna’i said. “We want to share the daily life of being a voyager on a waka hourua and translate these stories into as many Pasifika languages as possible.”
These resources will connect culture, language, and lived experience, providing engaging ways for schools, libraries, and communities to learn indigenous knowledge.
Hinemoana will also serve as a platform for professional development courses for educators, community leaders, and corporate teams. These courses will deepen participants’ ability to use wayfinding as a strategic framework for leadership, resilience, and cultural capability.
In addition, corporate sails will be offered as a team-building and leadership experience, where participants will learn firsthand the principles of collective leadership, trust, and adaptability—key skills essential in both business and life.
“Wayfinding is about reading the environment, adapting, and leading with vision,” Tafuna’i said. “These are skills that apply not only at sea but in leadership, business, and personal growth. We are excited to bring corporate teams and educators on board to experience leadership through the wisdom of our ancestors.”
Over the past year, Trust Flying Geese has:
•Trained local Māori and Pasifika facilitators to deliver wayfinding-based learning
•Taken rangatahi on longer voyages to strengthen their cultural connections
•Mentored young sailors towards becoming captains, ensuring succession for future generations
With more than 50 waka hourua sails completed and 650 rangatahi reached in 2024, Wayfinding for Life has had a profound impact on mental resilience, cultural connection, and leadership development.
