Ka rohea nei te whenua ki te Matapuna
Timata ki Waitotara ki te ahi tapu o nga tupuna ki Paka,
ka piki ki runga ki Kaimanawa ki te paeroa o Te Rangihuruao
Tae noa atu ki nga Puketurua ki te puna waikoko o Waipakihi
ka heke waikuku ki Motutotara, e tu ana ki te au o Waikato
Ara ake te haere ki Nukuhau ki Tongariro upoko kaiora
Ka whakawhiti atu ki Tuhua Maunga ki te uru
Katahi ka whai i te pae o Hauhungaroa ki Rangitukia
Ka huri whakamuri kia hoki te waka ki Waitotara ki te ahi tahutahu o nga tupuna e
Starting at Waitahanui on the Tongariro Delta we look out across Te Huri Taniwha o Taupo Moana and see all the many bays from Motuoapa to Rangitukia.
Ngati Turangitukua lives within Te Matapuna the takiwa established when the first fires of occupation were lit at Paakaa by Ngatoroirangi and Tia, establishing the border between Te Matapuna and Te Hikuwai. All the hapu of Te Matapuna share common whakapapa.
Our waka sets out from Waitahanui and we cross to Te Iringa Pouraka (Stump Bay) and the traditional kai gathering areas of Hautu.
Heading across the Hautu lands to arrive at wahi tupuna of Motiti and Te Parekura o Turangitukua in Kaimanawa
Follow through Kaimanawa along the Te Rangihuruao ridge to Ngapuketurua twin peaks and Umukarikari Pa
Then follow the Waipakihi Stream down to Motutotara, its confluence with the Waikatoiti stream which flows via the Waikato Falls into the Tongariro River – our core lands.
From the river the Waikatoiti rises up from Nukuhau on Tongariro Maunga where we stand in the shelter of Tuwharetoa
Then forward to Pihanga Maunga tapairu , the sacred kuia o Ngati Turangitukua and beside her Tihia, Kakaramea, Kuharua which we share with our whanaunga marae.
Thence going down via the geothermal waters to Maunganamu and Te Waiariki Pa
We return again across the bay to arrive back at old Waitahanui on the Tongariro delta.
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