An East Coast iwi has good reason to celebrate as some very successful and young descendants returned home.
Between the three of them, they have won an Emmy, a Rugby World Cup and a Silver Scroll.
They were proudly welcomed home by whānau at the Ōtuwhare Marae in Ōmaio, a remote spot on the East Coast.
The three Apanui stars Tweedie Waititi, Ruahei Demant and Rob Ruha were met with a special welcome as they returned to their marae of Ōtuwhare with special taonga in tow.
"There's not many opportunities that you get as you know to be headed back onto your marae by your own. That's a moment that I'll remember forever," Black Ferns co-captain Demant told Newshub.
One person at the welcoming said: "It's the first time descendants have been able to see these taonga together on these ancestral lands of Te Whānau-a-Apanui and it means so much."
Another said: "From Hollywood to here."
The trio's success will be celebrated on Friday and go through the night.
At the heart of it was the whakapapa that connects everyone back to their ancestor Apanui Ringamutu.
"We're one away from a grand slam so anyone that knows how to write a waiata Nau mai haere mai," Emmy winner and co-producer of the film Rūrangi Tweedie Waititi said.
Musician Rob Ruha won a Silver Scroll for best song of the year.
Around the Ōmaio parts, it's known as Apanuitanga which could be a secret recipe for their success.
