Manea Footprints of Kupe

Hokianga tradition holds that Kupe, the navigator who found Aotearoa, made landfall here and that this harbour is where he departed for Hawaiki - the full name, Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe, means the great returning place of Kupe. Manea opened in 2020 at Opononi as the local hapu's own telling of that: a seventy-five minute guided experience combining carving, a digital and film presentation, taonga and a live guide, structured around Kupe's voyage, his time in the Hokianga and what he left behind in the names of the landscape outside the window. It is worth being clear about what it is - an interpretive centre with a strong production element, presented by the descendants of the people in the story, rather than a museum of objects. The building faces the harbour and the giant dunes across the water. Opononi is small, and the centre is the main reason to stop rather than pass through.

What you actually see

• The guided experience - seventy-five minutes, live guide with film and taonga.
• The Kupe tradition - told by the hapu whose story it is.
• The carving and taonga - within the centre.
• The harbour - the water and dunes the story is set on.

When to go

Any season. Sessions run to a schedule and are guided - check times and book, particularly outside summer when frequency drops.

Honest expectations

It is a produced interpretive experience rather than a collection of objects, which suits some visitors and not others. Ticketed and time-slotted. Opononi has limited services.

Nearby

The Hokianga dunes are across the water; Rawene and the ferry are east.