A Polynesian fleet hopes to leave Auckland later this week to sail to Hawaii and back.
Hoturoa Kerr, the kaihautu for the Aotearoa waka Haunui, says the five canoes will be joined along the route by vaka from the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
He says Te Mana o te Moana voyage aims to raise awareness in communities around the Pacific about rising sea levels, noisy oceans and the damage that human activity is causing the environment.
"It's like the living pulse of the earth is tied into the ocean," he told Waatea News.
Mr Kerr said the fleet aims to get to Hawaii by the first weekend of July in time for the Kava Bowl ocean summit.
