About
Kei te aha? that’s how we greet people as Ngāti Porou. I grew up in Ruatoria and fell in love with flying watching topdressing planes do their thing.
I received the best education growing up nurtured by my Aunties, Uncles and Nannies who were looking after us or tuning a few of us/me up.
With a new pilots licence I got a job at Air Gisborne doing charter work, instructing students, fish spotting and carting the odd relation to Hamilton on air ambulance flights. That was the early 90’s and good fun with my sights set on joining the national airline. A recession hit, the airline stopped hiring so I headed off to Massey University with my best friend. Pōneke was the next stop working in the public and private sector.
Fast forward to 2020, I had married my best friend, added two (boys) to our whānau however the passion for flying and Ruatoria remains, hence Air Ruatoria.
Our Ngāti Porou landscapes aren’t just beautiful landscapes, they are cultural landscapes with the mana and whakapapa of our hapu. Whether it is our maunga tapu, Hikurangi, or the Waiapu River from which the proverb "Waiapu kōkā huhua" flows and speaks to the fierce leadership of our women. Ultimately it's the Ngāti Porou people that makes the place special. Ngāti Porou people who are tenacious, have a history of service, are creative and strategic with a unique sense of humour.
So come and enjoy our wonderful cultural landscapes, learn about our taonga, our iwi and the place we call “Paradise”
Nō reira, nau mai haere mai
Mahanga Maru
Te Aitanga-ā-Mate, Ngāti Uepohatu
Air Ruatoria