The Tongariro fire has cast a long shadow over Ngāti Tūwharetoa, scorching parts of their maunga and unsettling the iwi that calls it home.
In the wake of that devastation, Tūwharetoa whānau have returned to the waters of Taupō Moana, choosing to paddle its vast shoreline as a way to ground themselves again.
What began as a physical challenge has become a journey of healing - a chance to reconnect with their tūpuna, each other, and the whenua still recovering from the blaze.
For a lot of the crew, it’s the first time doing something like this, but the kaupapa carries a lot of meaning, especially after the recent Tongariro fire that’s left the iwi feeling pretty shaken.
The fire damaged parts of the maunga and the whenua around it. Getting back on the water has been a way to reset, reconnect, and support each other.
The blaze erupted on 8 November 2025, quickly roaring across the Tongariro National Park’s rugged terrain. In just a few days, it consumed nearly 2,900 to 3,000 hectares of precious whenua - from alpine scrub and wetlands to frost flats and pockets of kaikawaka forest.
Te Takinga New, who’s been helping lead the kaupapa, says the timing feels right and getting back on the water has been a way to reset, reconnect, and support each other.
“It’s been a tough time for us at home, for Tūwharetoa.”
This mahi is about healing for our people, and releasing everything on the waters of our ancestors, retracing the pathways they paddled.”
The team set itself a huge challenge - to paddle right around Lake Taupō. At more than 600 square kilometres, it’s the largest lake in Aotearoa, and circling it is no small feat. It takes solid planning, hours of training, and a crew that can pull together every step of the way.
For some of the younger ones on the waka, the trip has been a way to learn things they didn’t grow up doing.
Rangiātea Hall says waka knowledge used to be normal for Tūwharetoa, but over time, many people stopped paddling unless it was for sport.
“I tērā wā o mua, he tino kaha tō mātou nei whakahaere i te waka me ā mātou nei tikanga o te waka,” says Hall
Earlier this year, the group ran a practice paddle from Tauhara to Pihanga to see if the full journey around the lake was doable.
Te Takinga says that the paddle showed them that the dream could actually become reality.
“I te tīmatanga o te tau, ka mōhio ai tātou mena ka taea e tātou te hoe mai i Tauhara ki Pihanga, ā, me huri noa te haere i tō tātou nei moana.”
The circumnavigation of the lake is set to continue, and the group hopes that each year, more whānau will join.
They want this to become something the whole iwi can take pride in, something that strengthens identity, revives the traditional ways of Māori navigation.
“Ae he ōrite ki ēra atu o nga tira hoe o waikato, o Whanganui, ara ka tae te wā mō tātou o Tuwharetoa.”
