This qualitative research examines Pākehā New Zealanders’ experiences in waka ama through in-depth interviews. The analysis reveals cultural identity negotiation and knowledge exchange processes as Pākehā paddlers develop bicultural identities through deepening connections within te ao Māori. For many, waka ama serves as a gateway to tikanga, te reo Māori, and community. Participants emphasised that meaningful engagement requires sustained, humble participation to avoid the risk of appropriation. Humility emerged as an orienting ethos enabling learning as cultural outsiders and fostering openness to discomfort, continuous learning, and recognition of knowledge limitations.

Whakataukī are metaphors that provide us with ethical guidelines, and tikanga and kawa are the wisdom, knowledge and history handed down from the past to future generations to help people navigate their lives and support aspirations for today and the future. Using a twin-hulled waka ama as a metaphor for the relationship between participants and researchers in Indigenous research, this article explores Māori and Indigenous ethics as having equal status to Western research ethics. In relation to research, ethics can be a complicated domain when working alongside Māori and Indigenous peoples.