Ngāi Tahu are a resilient, entrepreneurial people who made our home in Te Waipounamu (South Island) over 800 years ago. Our ancestors were the first long distance seafarers, riding the ocean currents and navigating by stars on voyaging waka (canoes) from Hawaiki Nui. They populated the islands of the South Pacific eventually making their way to Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu.