Wallisian performance group

Group without lockdown accommodation concerned for older members

When the Ta'ofi Ke Ma'u performance troupe left their home island of Wallis in the Pacific they had no idea that what was going to be a nine-day trip would become a trip with no definite end date in sight.

The group of 25, who travelled to Auckland to perform at the Pasifika Festival on 13 March, have been stranded here since Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings forced its cancellation.

"We were so excited to come here, and so most of us it was the first trip outside of Noumea," said Niuola Petelo, 64, the group's president.