Ngā mihi nui. Ko tēnei Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. It's Māori Language Week and at Mighty Ape we are marking the occasion in several ways.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) presents us with a challenge to increase our use of the reo (language) and we're happy to accept the wero (challenge). So in the spirit of that you will notice some more kupu Māori (Māori words) on our Pukamata (Facebook), Pae Tīhau (Twitter), and īmēra (emails) this week.

We have also added some bilingual signage around the workplace to familiarise our team with more kupu Māori and are encouraging them to brush up on their reo Māori and incorporate it into their mahi (work) and kōrerorero (conversations).

What is Makimaki Toa?
You may have noticed that our website logo is a little different this week – don't worry you're still at Mighty Ape! To support Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori we’re using the Makimaki Toa logo on our website.

Fun fact: Makimaki Toa is the name that we use to represent Mighty Ape in te reo Māori.

The name is comprised of Makimaki meaning ape or monkey, and Toa meaning mighty, brave, champion, warrior, etc. Coincidentally “Toa” also means shop or store.

Te Reo Māori resources
If you are interested in learning or improving your te reo Māori we've got some great books, movies, music, toys, and more listed on our site including the popular Māori at Home series. Māori Dictionary is free and is a great online resource for translating individual words. There are several institutions where you can take courses for free including AUT and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa. There are some great educational shows for learning te reo on Whakaata Māori (formerly Māori TV) too.

We hope that you enjoy Te Wiki o Te Reo and learn something new.

Kia pai te wiki. Have a good week :)