Our grand tree had given up and retired, but to ensure she went out in style she landed on young Andrew’s ute. Fortunately, she missed the house.

So what to do, what to do?

I wondered if possibly some local carvers, of which Waiheke has a wonderful selection, might be interested in some of the wood for creating art. I had in mind that someone would use parts of the tree for a number of pieces.

When Anton Forde came over he said to us, “I could make a waka,” we were quite surprised and also excited at the possibility. He explained that the trunk was unusually long and straight for a pōhutukawa tree and that this would be the first waka to be built from an single trunk in about 100 years. We felt honoured to start such a fantastic journey with him.

For Andrew and I, the waka represents rejuvenation and the making something good out of a fall. So much about our modern world is shifting from a disposable world to a focus on reusing and repurposing what we have and ensuring beauty is preserved. We had a choice, our tree could have become single-use fire wood, or we could enable the creation of something generations to come could enjoy.

Anton helped us choose the latter.

So in came the arborists. First to release the car and then to free the trunk from behind our house. It was so thrilling to watch Danny and his team from Arbor Bros. tackle the challenge to bring each branch safety to the ground. We have tried to ensure as much of the tree has been used to create beauty, the rest was returned to the ground as mulch around the garden.

Over the next few years Anton carved away in between a number of other projects and slowly but surely our waka came to life. Each part of the piece comes from a different part of Waiheke Island. For us this represents unification and the blending of worlds, times and cultures.

Pōhatakawa - the entrance to Matiatia - close to the old Pā site which is called Moki Moki- 600 years.

Tauihu - bow carving - Comes from the old Matiatia Wharf which used to be used as the car ferry up until the 1970's- has been dated at around 1950's.

Taurapa/Tail carving - Putiki/ Kennedy Point - dated around 1970's when the car ferry was put in. I found it at Cyril Wright's place in Te Matuku/Pearl Bay.

Hiwi/striger - Power pole Man of War dated around the 1960's when Man of War got power.

Punga Manawa ora/Anchor stone of Hope - Obsidian/Basalt from Onetangi when they blasted the rock face.

Our adventure began in 2020 when we were in the throws of the pandemic, and here we are now in 2024 with a magnificent piece of art which reflects our vision and is a vision for a better future. Along the way we had bumps and scrapes, blessings and joy, Anton fell and broke his ribs, a tree we was gifted to us by the university to add to the project. The pandemic did not help when Anton arranged for student carvers to be involved but were not able to engage and I was diagnosed with incurable cancer.

However, here we are, we have been delighted to learn so much from Anton, about the process, about Māori culture and about grace. It has been a privilege to be on this journey with him.

In accordance with tradition and protocol, she has been named by the local iwi, Ngati Paoa. This name will be revealed on the 4th of May.

 We hope you enjoy our beautiful Waka. and we hope you feel a connection too.