Hundreds around Aotearoa have come to support mana whenua demonstrating at Ihumātao today, in a bid to stop the development of the land.
Mana whenua spokesperson Qiane Matata-Sipu says people are singing waiata, sharing kōrero and enjoying kai.
"The people who have been coming so far have been coming in their hundreds and we expect as we get closer to the weekend there will likely be many, many more whānau coming to support," she says.
"We do know that there are buses that are coming from around the country as we speak to come and awhi the kaitiaki here."
Amnesty International staff are in attendance at Ihumātao to report on any possible breaches of human rights.
National executive director Meg de Ronde says they are there today to be an independent observer of what is going on with kaitiaki and the police.
"We're here to verify any reports that there might be and to make sure human rights are upheld."
De Ronde says overall peace has been upheld at Ihumātao between mana whenua and police.
"But there have been a few reports made to us that we're going to put an investigation on just to check but we're relatively confident that a peaceful protest is the aim for both parties."
Students from different schools around Auckland have also come to share waiata and haka, including Kia Aroha College.