Auckland welcomes symbolic Tuia 250

Against the backdrop of Auckland's landmarks, the City of Sails welcomed this symbolic flotilla.  

With winds buffeting Tuia 250's tall ships and waka, the sails stayed down but the cheers went up. 

Captain James Cook never made it to Auckland, and Friday's arrival of the replica of his ship was a unique sight.

"It is a uniting of two cultures coming together that's what it should be about," one spectator told Newshub.

Tuia 250's three month journey throughout the country pays tribute to New Zealand's pacific voyagers, and those involved in the first bloody onshore encounters between Māori and Pākehā in 1769.

Unlike the Gisborne stopover, there was not a protester in sight on Friday.

Endeavour volunteer Mark Timmins, 82, has been on board the replica ship since Gisborne, and said the early voyagers were never far from his mind.

During the coming days, Aucklanders are being urged to experience the past, and look to the future with a vibrant weekend of music and outdoor screenings on the city's waterfront.

Newshub.