Waka

Waitangi, Bay of Islands

This is Ngatokimatawhaorua. Whether it's the longest name for a waka (canoe) is debatable. But this is the largest war canoe in the world and it's to be found in historic Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. Also close by is the Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting Place) which was completed in 1940 and is a finely detailed construction with carvings representing the major Maori tribes. Ngatokimatawhaorua is named after the great canoe of Kupe, traditional Polynesian ancestor of the Maori people.