It’s arrival time! The crew have had a breather, the beans have cleared customs and the team is ready to come home. Here is a rundown of events over the next 5 days:
The Uto will come into wellington today. They will be guided in at 5:30pm by the ceremonial waka Te Rerenga Kotare, Poutu of Te Atiawa/Tarakani Whanui. They will berth at the entrance to Chafers Marina (behind Te Papa), come down and be part of the welcoming committee!
There will be a formal welcome ceremony at Te Raukura – Wharewaka Function Center at 6pm. If the weather is fine this will take place outside, if not it will be inside. Because space is limited inside is invitation only but you are more than welcome to come and watch everything up to that point. It is the Uto’s first visit to Wellington so it will be quite special.
A map and directions of where to go for the arrival and ceremony is below.
There will be an “Uto Open Day” where people can come and meet the crew, go on board and have a look around and ask lots of questions. The exact day and time is not yet known but will be sometime Thursday – Saturday. We’ll confirm details shortly.
On Friday the Wellington Chocolate Factory will host a Chocolate Kava Night with traditional Fijian music, maybe some dancing and lots of storytelling. It will be a fundraiser for the Uto ni Yalo Trust, donation at the door and is bound to be a great night! We will post more details shortly.
Directions for the Welcome:
The Uto will berth at the entrance to Chafers Mariner, behind Te Papa. Arrow pointing out the spot on the map below, you won’t miss her.
Ceremony will be held at Te Raukura (Wharewaka’s Function Centre). It is located in Odlins Square on Wellington’s Waterfront, 15 Jervois Quay. Main function room entrance is via the Lagoon side of the building.
Vehicle access: However access to the waterfront is via the Taranaki St Wharf entrance to “pack in” is gained by calling our main office 04 499 8180, via the cable street entrance to the wharf. A loading zone is located by our building – however there is no parking available by the building.
Carparking:
Cable Street – Tournament parking, this is located across the road from Te Papa, 2 minute walks to us http://www.tournament.co.nz/location/the-cable-street-carpark
The James Smiths Carpark – just across the road from us 3 minute walk http://www.tournament.co.nz/location/the-james-smiths-carpark/
Te Papa – Same side of road as us 1-2 minute walk http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/VisitingTePapa/Parking/Pages/Parkingspecials.aspx
The Wellington Chocolate Voyage 