Epic waka journey 'just the begining'

throughout the Pacific.

A Wellington businessman hopes that the arrival of a waka full of cocoa beans from Bouganville will kickstart a sail-powered shipping network

throughout the Pacific.

Curious onlookers gathered on Nga Motu Beach in New Plymouth today to welcome the crew of the bean-carrying Uto ni Yalo ashore.

Wellington Chocolate Company co-owner Gabe Davidson said the idea to ship a tonne of cocoa beans to New Zealand came about by chance after he met Bougainville's "Mr Cocoa" - James Rutana.

"It's one of those conversations I had half jokingly with James while I was in Bougainville, that wouldn't it be great if we could shine a spotlight on Bougainville as a world class cocoa growing region and find a way to have a direct trade route from Bougainville to New Zealand, and perhaps we could do that via sail boat."

Mr Davidson said he was keen to help the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea get back on its feet after 10 years of civil war and part of the project involved upgrading Mr Rutana's plantation.

"They've had a lot of challenges in the past, they've had a long, tough history. Cocoa is their main export, but their getting very little for it.

"But what I found was the quality of James' beans was very good and he deserved to get a better price in recognition for what he's achieved over the past 50 years."

The New Zealand-built, Fiji-based waka set sail in August and travelled to New Plymouth via Vanuatu, Bougainville and the Solomons.

The 29-day journey from Honiara in the Solomons to New Plymouth was the longest leg for the twin-hulled waka.

The project was funded via a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign where the 500 donors were set to receive a chocolate bar for their support.

Mr Davidson said the adventure was never meant to be financially sustainable, but now they had proven it could be done he hoped it would be used as a case study in planning a sail-powered Pacific trade route.

"This is one of several waka around the Pacific, one of which can be sailed with less crew and has a larger cargo hold, so there are other alternatives we are looking at now to find ways of continuing to do this sustainably."

The skipper of the 22-metre waka is Fijian Angelo Smith, who uses the stars to navigate.

"We were very fortunate to learn from the remaining pole navigators from here in New Zealand, and the Cook Islands and Hawaii.

"We still have a lot to learn but it's something we are trying to bring back, something our ancestors did and we are losing so bringing it back is one thing that is a part of all our voyages."

Mr Smith said surprisingly that although the waka had battled 6m swells and high winds on its way to New Zealand, those were not the toughest conditions for its 16-strong crew.

"You'd think that it'd be hard when it's rough and windy, but it's the opposite. When it's calm and there's no wind for three days, when we are sitting out there not moving. That's when it's more challenging, than when it's rough and windy and were moving. It's a mental thing."

Julia Johns, who took part in the Ngati Te Whiti powhiri at Nga Motu Beach, said the arrival of a traditional waka was a significant occasion.

"It's awesome because it's our whenua, it's our tangata whenua so we should be here to greet them and our people came here on waka like this too so it's awesome and they've been at sea for months."

Rob Green was also in awe of the waka crew's achievement.

"It gets you thinking about the challenge of navigating across such a stretch of water and wondering how our Maori ancestors made their way here.

"It's sort of opens up all that kind of thinking. I think the people were particularly brave and courageous to make such a journey using this sort of technology and this today obviously proves it's perfectly possible."

The Uto ni Yalo completes its journey in Wellington in where the Bougainville cocoa beans will be turned into 12,000 chocolate bars.