On the first day of the Te Matatini preliminary competition, three-time champions Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau-a-Apanui from Mātaatua took the stage in the late afternoon.
Having won in 2023, there was even more pressure than before.
The leader of the kapa haka group, Tamati Waka, joined at the age of 17 and has been leading the group since he was 25.
On the second day of the competition, Waka had a kōrero with Te Matatini presenters Oriini Kaipara and Julian Wilcox to talk about his team and the familiar ties within the group.
“I te tuatahi, kāore au i paku mahara ki tērā. Te mea mai rā anō, tata ki te rua tekau ngā Ngāti Tawhaki i roto i te rōpū kapa haka o te Whānau a Apanui, ngā Tūhoe. Engari tata mai ki tēnei tau, kua tekau ngā wāaka.
“Ko taku whānau, mātou toko rima. Ko Rāpāera tētahi, ko Kihi tētahi, āna ko Carey Girl, ko Edward, ko Heleen. Mātau he wāaka katoa mātau,” he said.
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