After dark, another passage appeared above the harbour

On our last night in Hokianga, we stepped outside into almost complete darkness. The harbour and hills we knew by day receded from view, while the Milky Way slowly emerged. My phone did not capture everything the eye could see, but its faint record was enough to show that, far from urban light, darkness is not an empty space.

In Māori astronomical tradition, Matariki forms part of a larger constellation called Te Waka o Rangi—the canoe of Rangi. In one widely shared account, Taramainuku captains the celestial waka and casts a net to gather the souls of those who have died during the year. When Matariki rises again to mark the new year, the names of the dead are called and their memory is carried into the sky.