Te Vaka

Nukukehe Te Vaka

The third Te Vaka album, 'Nukukehe' is dedicated to Greenpeace and all the other environmental groups around the world caring enough to do something about it.'My journey to Samoa, Tokelau and Tuvalu in 2001 and 2002 brought much inspiration for the writing of this album. It was a time of great happiness and celebration but it was also tinged with sadness. Seeing for myself the effects of climate change, brought home to me the reality that these islands with their unique and individual cultures, will not endure if something isn't done to reverse this trend in the very near future.It is real to me now, that we all need to do something, no matter how small, to help.Despite all this - to visit the place where I was born, and visit both my Mother and Father's Islands, has been a source of great inspiration for me. I was amazed to see that the houses in my village were still the same - thatched roof, no walls, one room fits all. Happy childhood memories came flooding back. I experienced the people, the music, the dance, the awesome hospitality and I left there hoping that all this will always be there.' Opetaia Foai.