Small turnout for hikoi | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

It was not quite nga hau e wha but it was close as Anthony Kingi and Regan Clark joined a small hikoi making its way from Napier today to Waitangi Day commemorations at Clive.

Among a group of about 14 making the walk, Mr Kingi hails from Kaitaia, in the Far North, and Mr Clark, from Invercargill, in the far south.

They weren't disappointed about the numbers, with Mr Clark saying: "If you're going to do it, you've got to be doing it for the right reasons."

"It's a day for celebrating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi," he said. "It was the defining moment in our history. I get a lot out of it, in my wairua and spirit.

"If I worried about the people who are not here, I'd be forgetting about the people who are."

Mr Kingi said it was also about paying homage to Waitangi and said: "I do my bit. I know the people up there are doing it."

The group was to be welcomed at its Farndon Park destination by Te Aute College pupils performing a haka.

A re-enactment of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi was also to be held at Clive this morning, followed by waka rides and waka ama races on the Clive River.

The Waitangi Day event being held at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park in Hastings would start with the Kahungunu regional kapa haka competition, which concludes this afternoon.