Dolphin, dragon, and diamond kites floated across Tamaki Makaurau skies on Saturday as part of the Matariki Festival.
It encouraged people to look up and pay more attention to their surroundings.
- Full waka to view Matariki star cluster from Auckland Harbour
- The best ways to celebrate Matariki in Auckland this winter
Animals normally seen under the sea shared the air with their winged mates, filling the skies near Orakei and Puketepapa.
"Kites and birds were used to send messages to other realms," Ataahua Papa from the Auckland Council told Newshub.
"The idea is that the wind takes the messages of aroha- your whakaaro - up to those who have passed on," Papa said.
Not only did Māori send personal wishes to their ancestors, but kites were also used to send messages "between" villages.
"Different kites mean we've got people visiting, or come and have a kai, or something's happening in the water - this is a good fishing day, this is a good planting day," she explained.
On Saturday, it gave people a good reason to pay more attention to their surroundings, she says, and look to the sky while celebrating Māori history.
"Traditionally kites would have been made from materials you'd find growing around you like flax and the covering would be leaves, reeds, trying to keep it as light as possible is the hard part when you're using traditional materials." kite maker Perrin Melchior said.
It's not just the materials that have changed over time.
"Traditionally the shapes would have been more what you'd see around you - looking like birds, or people, fish, animals, insects, but as our knowledge and technology increased we started thinking about things from more of an engineering point of view, more like crystals and boxes," Melchior said.
One thing that hasn't changed, though, is how you learn to fly them.
Newshub.
