Cook Islands culture shines at NZ Dragon Boat Nationals

A Hamilton-based paddler says they brought some “Cook Islands flavour” to the 2025 New Zealand Dragon Boat Nationals earlier this month.

The championships took place over two days at Lake Karapiro, featuring 200-metre heats on Friday 4 April, followed by the 500m finals the next day. Five regions competed for the Ben Afitu Shield, with Auckland edging out Waikato 25-24 to secure their sixth consecutive title.

Speaking to Susnation Seta on PMN Cook Islands, Walter Tuakana, a member of the Paddle Waikato team and Hamilton Cook Islands Association, says the event was an “awesome experience”.

“That was the first time I've ever done the nationals, I really enjoyed it, the weather was a bit wet on Friday. My wife has joined me in Paddle Waikato, who we paddled for, and it's been an awesome experience,” Tuakana says.

He explains the differences between Waka Ama and dragon boating. Dragon boating involves 10 to 22 people paddling primarily on one side, accompanied by a steerer and a drummer at the front, while Waka Ama consists of one to six paddlers who paddle on both sides of the canoe.

“It's a sport that I've just picked up in the last year and enjoyed it. We took a bit of our Cook Island flavour there, played the ukulele and played the drums just to bring some Pacific flavour to the sport,” Tuakana says.

Tuakana says that although the Cook Islands Hamilton community is small, they are committed to uplifting their culture and revitalising their language. They hold cultural group practices every Thursday.

He teaches drumming and dancing at schools, including his son’s, and says that other “passionate Cook Islanders” in the region are doing the same.

“Some of our younger people have gone up to and joined the Te Maeva Nui groups for the celebration later on this year. It's exciting to see that our young people are willing to travel all the way up to Tāmaki Makaurau to practise.

“It's great for them to experience that exposure to the culture because it's strong in Auckland, Tokoroa and some of our Porirua in Wellington.”

Watch Walter Tuakana’s full interview below.

Tuakana offers words of encouragement to the youth, saying that they can sometimes be “the worst critics for our own culture”. He advised them to embrace their roots.

“Be proud of who we are, share our culture, and never, I know we could be the worst critics for our own culture, but always embrace those who are willing to learn,” he says.

“Just keep moving, our culture's just going to get better. Be proud of who we are, of singing, dancing, drumming, and whatever we do.”