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whitihereaka.co.nz
Whiti Hereaka
@whitihereaka.co.nz
2.2K followers 390 following 3.5K posts
Te Arawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Tumatawera, Tainui, Pākehā. Kaituhi Māori. Author of “Kurangaituku”.
Writer of things. Popular emotional cheese dish.
She/her/ia.
www.whitihereaka.co.nz
Profile photo by Tabitha Arthur
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whitihereaka.co.nz
If you see this (and wish to) post four female characters you love
Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous Cordelia Chase from Buffy Xena Warrior Princess Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion
November 9, 2025 at 5:32 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
Describe your cat’s personality with one photo
Pickles the brown tabby sitting in the window in the sun looking majestic. Ralph the very fluffy tabby and white cat outside the window looking at Pickles in admiration.
November 9, 2025 at 3:58 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
I spent a good chunk of the day writing about popping eyeballs between one’s teeth. This afternoon I had a strong craving for bubble tea.
(Also, matchy match)
Whiti holds a turquoise blue bubble tea that matches her manicure and a post in her neighbourhood. Whiti holds a bubble tea that matches her manicure and a car parked on the road.
November 4, 2025 at 4:12 AM
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I had to go out on a rage walk (lack of pain au chocolat was a contributing factor) and I bought this hand painted decorative plate, because the cat’s expression is MOOD.
A hand painted fluffy white cat that looks like a pensive and like a storm is brewing cloud.
October 29, 2025 at 4:44 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
OK — should I wait for you then?
A blood splattered room with the caption “caption this with the 2nd to last text you sent”
October 27, 2025 at 5:20 AM
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I told Ralph that he is like an emdash and they are my favourite.
Ralph the fluffy tabby and white cat stretched out on the bed like an emdash indicating a change from woollen blanket to floral duvet cover
October 21, 2025 at 3:16 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
Just back from the gala dinner at Kupu festival — it was a fantastic night and a wonderful festival! Here’s me all glam before the dinner.
A selfie of Whiti wearing make up. She is wearing a purple dress and a necklace of feathers.
October 18, 2025 at 9:21 AM
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I’m in Rotorua for the Kupu festival gala dinner and the Pikihuia awards and I *may* have spent a little too much time in the hot pool. But I no longer have an eye twitch.
Selfie of Whiti in her hôtel room in a bikini top looking very flushed in her face and on her chest.
October 18, 2025 at 3:31 AM
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I’m going through the catalogue of the “Rembrandt to Renoir” exhibition because I’m going to write it into my novel and this Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel painting “Portrait of Paul Mounet” still stops me. Teenaged me may have “appreciated” it longer than any other painting in the exhibition 😅😍
Portrait of Paul Mounet by Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel. À portrait of the actor, Mounet from 1875. Mounet is dark haired and eyed and is very handsome. My friends and I compared him to Keanu Reeves — and there is a slight resemblance but I think it was that Keanu had similar hair both on his head and facial in 1993.
October 16, 2025 at 10:45 PM
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The wild sweet peas are blooming!
Also: I need to get a new manicure and I (unintentionally) dressed to matchy match the sweet peas.
Whiti’s hand holding a couple of fuchsia coloured sweet pea flowers. Her pink red nails are the same colour as the heart of the flower. Selfie of Whiti. She is holding the sweet pea flowers to her hoodie which is the same fuchsia pink. She is wearing sunglasses and headphones because she is on her walk home.
October 15, 2025 at 4:14 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
Know that when I wear these glasses, I have “A Message to you Rudy” in my head.

open.spotify.com/track/49slT7...
Whiti wearing big glasses with a checkered pattern on the frame.
October 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
whitihereaka.co.nz
I finished my mini kākahu! I quite like it as a top — but it would take a tremendous amount of Hollywood tape to make it G rated. All bets are off if I lift my arms!
Selfie of Whiti wearing a mini kākahu as a top. It is woven in cotton and peacock feathers.
October 6, 2025 at 5:35 AM
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Getting close to finishing my mini kākahu — I love mawhitiwhiti!
Close up of à mini kākahu made of peacock feathers. The tāniko is worked in cobalt blue and emerald green. The crossed mawhitiwhiti stitching is prominent in the photo.
October 5, 2025 at 3:53 AM
whitihereaka.co.nz
I’m reading Blake’s Progress at the moment!
Copy of the book Blake’s Progress. The cover features a version of his painting “Ancient of Days” and a floating, disapproving head presumably of Blake. Absent is a reprentation of Kate Blake who is the actual protagonist of the novel.
October 3, 2025 at 6:05 PM
whitihereaka.co.nz
Went to the beach, found a sea glass marble.
À light blue, glass marble amongst wet pebbles on the beach. You can just see some colour from the cats eye of the marble. Close up of à light blue glass marble amongst wet pebbles on the beach.
October 3, 2025 at 4:41 AM
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I had 20 mins to spare before Yum Cha so I popped into Arty Bees “just for a look” but I am a mere mortal who cannot resist monster disembodied eyes that turn people into zombies and a time travelling William Blake.
Covers of two pulpy sci-fi books from the seventies: The Flying Eyes, by J. Hunter Holly which has a giant eyeball held between two hands on the cover, and Blake’s Progress which has a variation of Blake’s Ancient of Days on the cover and a disembodied head, presumably William Blake.
September 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
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Got lost in time sorting and making feather bundles this afternoon — in the hopes of sorting out my thoughts about the novel.
Rows of peacock feathers sorted into bundles of three feathers.
September 26, 2025 at 8:21 AM
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Went for a walk on the beach in a puffer jacket while à hardy soul was swimming in the frigid water. Thought about time and how much of life is made up of accidents (happy or not). Thought of this comic by SMBC comics. Ate a delicious pie which hasn’t disguised the taste of existential dread.
One panel cartoon of a family in a car. À child says: Mom, Dad I have ennui! Father says; Well, you should have made peace with the absurdity of humanity existence before we started driving. The caption reads: Dad eventually pulled over at à frozen lake which represented the sublime beauty of impermanence, but he was pretty annoyed about it.
September 11, 2025 at 2:58 AM
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Look, to be fair, I am experimenting with the hydration level of the rēwena I baked this morning — so me eating a fair chunk of it already is just about rigorous testing, OK?
Whiti eating a slice of rēwena with lashings of butter like nature intended.
September 8, 2025 at 2:37 AM
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My tattoo artist (Rosa at Buttercat, Wellington) sent through a photo of my new ink! It curves around my inner arm so a bit hard to photograph myself.
À photo of a fresh black and grey tattoo on Whiti’s inner arm. It is an abstract brush stroke that is reminiscent of a river.
September 2, 2025 at 3:50 AM
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Waiting to be picked up for a wānanga and my bodyguard Ralph has concerns.
Looking down on the path to my house from the street above. Ralph the very fluffy cat looks up at the camera. A close up of Ralph the cat — his ears are suspicious.
August 29, 2025 at 8:03 PM
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Golden hour — twice in one day!
Selfie of Whiti bathed in soft golden light. Another selfie of Whiti bathed in soft golden light— she’s looking off into the distance
August 22, 2025 at 5:42 AM
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I went shopping in Palmy while I waited for check in and I bought: 4 bras, 3 crystals, 2 cupcakes, 1 fluffy cardi (also a t-shirt but that ruins the rhythm 😅)
My hotel room has a BATH so I will be having a bath after the event tonight.
Whiti in a mirror wearing a grey speckled mohair cardigan and an acid yellow t-shirt. The ridiculous tartan balloon pants are already part of her wardrobe. Two fancy cupcakes in a fancy box one is a red velvet and the other is a banana caramel.
August 22, 2025 at 2:12 AM
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I was up in time for golden hour this morning (so I could catch the bus to Palmy)
Selfie of Whiti in the soft, golden light of early morning. She smiles slightly at the camera.
August 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM
whitihereaka.co.nz
This weekend I finally finished customising my crow lamps (I made them more into sconces and gilded them) and I love them (and the flattering pink light)
Bedroom bathed in pink light from two crow lamps. Pickles the cat is looking at the camera as she sits on the bed. Close up of one of the crows: it is a black resin crow with the pendant lamp cord between its beak. It is perched on a gilded branch. Selfie of Whiti lying on her bed the pink light is VERY forgiving.
August 17, 2025 at 6:25 AM