A crew of 14 kaihoe (paddlers) from around the country are about to travel to London to take part in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 3 June 2012.

They have been training since March 2012. They will navigate the Thames river on waka taua Te Hono ki Aotearoa alongside of 1,000 other vessels in a flotilla taking part in a four-hour formal procession.

The involvement of the waka in the Diamond Jubilee pageant has been funded by the New Zealand government. Officials from Te Puni Kōkiri; Te Manatū Taonga the Ministry for Culture and Heritage; and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet have assisted with arrangements.

For more information contact: Tamahou Temara of Toi Māori 021 357 894 OR Paula Collins of Te Puni Kōkiri 021 518 518

Copy in MS Word and photos in jpeg format are available to media, please email your request to comms@tpk.govt.nz

To find out more about the crew, their profiles are available here in PDF format.